SpaceX has taken pains to completely oppose Myanmar’s increasing scam industry. Here’s how they stopped thousands of Starlink devices that scam centers were using. Given alarming reports from the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, this decision was made. They called attention to the rapid expansion of international scams, particularly those leveraging online cryptocurrency exchanges to move pilfered assets.
The tech company’s Starlink service provides high-speed internet across the globe using a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. This capability makes it an alluring option for criminal enterprises. Scam centers are often purpose-built compounds that sprawl across Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand. They target disadvantaged individuals and scam billions of dollars from people all over the world, including Americans.
During a recent crackdown, Thai authorities freed approximately 7,000 people held in these commercialized scam centers. Even more impressive, they were able to successfully repatriate these victims back to their home countries. Thailand has reduced cross-border electricity flows to parts of Myanmar. These regions have gained reputational infamy for facilitating or even hosting fraudulent telemarketing call centers, and the idea is to shut them down.
Southeast Asia is well known for “pig butchering” scams—romance or investment fraud that lures vulnerable individuals. The Myanmar military’s increased targeting of foreign nationals has greatly intensified these challenges. Between January 30 and October 19, authorities arrested over 9,500 people from scam compounds. Reports indicate that there are about 30 such compounds dedicated to scamming, where workers often face dire conditions, including beatings and torture.
The humanitarian crisis alone has sparked criticism towards the Myanmar military junta for its handling of current events. Whatever the underlying purpose, experts believe it could be an attempt to extend scam swindlers’ fingers into more lucrative money traps. Jason Tower, a prominent analyst, remarked on the military’s dual role:
“It is also likely that the Myanmar military seeks to establish more direct control over some of the scam centers, as it realizes just how much illicit revenue is being brought in by this extremely lucrative form of criminal activity.” – Jason Tower
One survivor, Kristalyn, described the desperate conditions many faced:
“Some of us are staying in abandoned houses, buildings and even some are just staying on the streets trying to cross the border. We have no food here. We have no money at all.” – Kristalyn
SpaceX’s intervention is in harmony with growing international alarm about the use of its technology by transnational criminal networks. These networks were using Starlink for their operations and how they were doing that is what U.S. officials had raised alarms about over the last year. In response, Lauren Dreyer, SpaceX’s vice president of business operations for Starlink, stated:
“In Myanmar, for example, SpaceX proactively identified and disabled over 2,500 Starlink Kits in the vicinity of suspected ‘scam centers’.” – Lauren Dreyer
Dreyer emphasized the company’s commitment to compliance with laws surrounding its services:
“On the rare occasion we identify a violation, we take appropriate action, including working with law enforcement agencies around the world.” – Lauren Dreyer
Even with these steps taken, many observers remain critical and skeptical about the military’s true intentions. Tower cautioned that the military’s recent actions might be more of a “publicity stunt than a crackdown” on the scam epidemic. He noted that with growing international concern, the junta is eager to redirect the blame onto itself. Simultaneously, it goes on raking in thousands of dollars from the illegal activities that operate just out of its sight.
According to recent reporting on the impact of the BRIDGE Act, many workers in these centers were baited by the allure of well-paying jobs. The rest were trafficked and confined against their will. Mirroring what’s going on inside the walls of these very well protected enclaves, former detainees have testified that beatings and torture are a regular practice inside.
This remains a rapidly evolving, fluid situation. Local and national leaders, endemic with fear and disinformation, are proving unable to mobilize against a marauding criminal syndicate incentivized by exploitation, greed, and corruption. The intersection of technology and crime poses new challenges for regulatory bodies and companies like SpaceX as they navigate their responsibilities in a world increasingly connected by digital networks.
