Analysis: (Updated) Don't panic, it's a hoax. Variants of the so-called "red number" or "death call" hoax first appeared on April 13, 2007 (Friday the 13th) in Pakistan, where they caused widespread panic and inspired a slew of ancillary rumors, including the claim that the phone calls, if listened to, could also trigger impotence in men and pregnancy in women. According to news reports, Pakistanis were heard trading secondhand stories of actual deaths that had supposedly occurred, with some claiming the fatalities were the handiwork of ancestral spirits enraged by the construction of a cell phone tower over a graveyard.
In an effort to quell the hysteria, government officials and mobile phone providers issued statements disproving the rumors, but, just as they began to subside in Pakistan, similar messages commenced spreading throughout Asia, the Middle East, and finally Africa. MTN Areeba, the largest cellular network in Ghana, released a statement echoing the assurances previously made by other providers: "A full scale national and international priority investigation has been conducted in the last 48 hours," a spokesperson said. "The investigation has confirmed that these rumours are completely unsubstantiated and have no technological evidence to support them."
According to engineers, cell phones are incapable of emitting sound frequencies that could cause immediate physical injury or death.
Those allegedly responsible for the hoax have now been arrested. An IWPR article notes:
On the evening of April '7, the interior ministry announced that four men had been arrested in connection with the case.
According to one version of events, the hoax was traced to a company that imports special "magnetic cards" that are hung around the neck and will supposedly protect the wearer from the harmful effects of computers and mobile phones.
An official in the Ministry of Communications, who did not want to give his name, alleged that the company involved put the rumour out in retaliation for a ministry statement telling people not to buy the magnetic cards.
