Hackers seem to be on a buying spree for Nokia 1100 phones, Nokia has no idea why

Nokia 1100 is an entry-level phone released in late 2003, targeting developing markets and consumers looking for a basic, affordable device. The device was a great success and together with its successors sold over 200 million units. Then it was discontinued and ultimately forgotten. At least until recently when the price of the used Nokia 1100 phones, produced in Bochum - Germany, started to go up suspiciously, from about  €500 a few months back to nearly €20,000 now. Needless to say, this is quite odd for a cell phone that originally sold for under €100, so investigators suspect some kind of bug gives unscrupulous individuals the opportunity to commit banking frauds using this device in particular.

PC World reports Nokia has stated they are unaware of the fact the price of their obsolete device has gone so far up. The company also said in e-mailed statement that they “…have not identified any phone software problem that would allow alleged use cases”.
Whether Nokia testers have missed something remains to be seen as security analysts are trying to acquire a Bochum-made Nokia 1100 to test their own theories. Until then you can tell us your opinion. Can you think of any legal reason as to why someone would be willing to shell out €20,000 on an obsolete device, given its strongest selling point used to be that it could be used as a flashlight?

source: PC World