SpaceX disables Starlink satellite services at Myanmar scam centres

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has announced that it has stopped Starlink satellite communication links to more than 2,500 devices found to be part of scam compounds in Myanmar.

There are over 30 scam compounds along the Thai-Myanmar border where people are trafficked from all around the world and forced to commit fraud that generates tens of billions of dollars annually.

The service was shut down after the Myanmar military seized control of KK Park, one of the country’s largest compounds, on Monday, marking part of its broader effort to reclaim areas that had been under insurgent control for the past two years.

Several activists have said that Starlink’s remote connectivity technology has facilitated the operation of these Chinese crime syndicates with ease along the border. People from around the world are lured into working in scam centres under the guise of legitimate jobs.

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Lauren Dreyer, head of Starlink business operations, said, “In Myanmar… SpaceX proactively identified and disabled over 2,500 Starlink Kits in the vicinity of suspected ‘scam centers’. We are committed to ensuring the service remains a force for good and sustains trust worldwide: both connecting the unconnected and detecting and preventing misuse by bad actors.”

Junta raids scam centre

Earlier this week, Myanmar’s junta raided one of the country’s most notorious cyberscam centres and seized Starlink satellite Internet devices. Internet sweatshops where workers scam unsuspecting foreigners with business or romance schemes have thrived in war-ravaged Myanmar’s lawless border regions since the coronavirus pandemic shut down casinos operating in the area.

Starting in February, authorities from Thailand, China, and Myanmar launched a joint operation that resulted in the return of thousands of suspected scammers. According to experts, some people in the scam trade take part willingly, while others are compelled to do so by organised crime groups.

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State media The Global New Light of Myanmar said the military “conducted operations in KK Park near the Myanmar-Thai border” and had “seized 30 sets of Starlink receivers and accessories.”

With inputs from agencies