A Starlink satellite dish on the roof of a building at the KK Park complex in Myanmar’s eastern Myawaddy township on September 17, 2025.\u00a0Credit: Getty Images | Lillian Suwanrumpha<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SpaceX said it disabled over 2,500 Starlink terminals suspected of being used by scammers in Myanmar. Lauren Dreyer, vice president of Starlink business operations, described the action in an X post<\/a> last night after reports that Myanmar\u2019s military shut down a major scam operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSpaceX complies with local laws in all 150+ markets where Starlink is licensed to operate,\u201d Dreyer wrote. \u201cSpaceX continually works to identify violations of our Acceptable Use Policy and applicable law\u2026 On the rare occasion we identify a violation, we take appropriate action, including working with law enforcement agencies around the world. In Myanmar, for example, SpaceX proactively identified and disabled over 2,500 Starlink Kits in the vicinity of suspected \u2018scam centers.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starlink is not licensed to operate in Myanmar. While Dreyer didn\u2019t say how the terminals were disabled, it\u2019s known<\/a> that Starlink can disable individual terminals based on their ID numbers or use geofencing to block areas from receiving signals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday, Myanmar state media reported that \u201cMyanmar\u2019s military has shut down a major online scam operation near the border with Thailand, detaining more than 2,000 people and seizing dozens of Starlink satellite Internet terminals,\u201d according to an Associated Press article<\/a>. The army reportedly raided a cybercrime center known as KK Park as part of operations that began in early September. The operations reportedly targeted 260 unregistered buildings and resulted in seizure of 30 Starlink terminals and detention of 2,198 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for the military government, charged in a statement Monday night that the top leaders of the Karen National Union, an armed ethnic organization opposed to army rule, were involved in the scam projects at KK Park,\u201d the AP wrote. The Karen National Union is \u201cpart of the larger armed resistance movement in Myanmar\u2019s civil war\u201d and \u201cdeny any involvement in the scams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Satellite images and drone footage recently showed \u201cfrenetic building work in the heavily guarded compounds around Myawaddy on the Thailand-Myanmar border, which appear to be using Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink satellite Internet service on a huge scale,\u201d Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The construction occurred despite a previous crackdown that resulted in the release of \u201caround 7,000 people from a brutal call center-like system that runs on greed, human trafficking and violence,\u201d the AFP wrote. \u201cFreed workers from Asia, Africa and elsewhere showed AFP journalists the scars and bruises of beatings they said were inflicted by their bosses. They said they had been forced to work around the clock, trawling for victims for a plethora of phone and Internet scams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another AFP article<\/a> said \u201cthe border region fraud factories are typically run by Chinese criminal syndicates, analysts say, often overseen by Myanmar militias given tacit backing by the Myanmar junta in return for guaranteeing security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Associated Press wrote that \u201cMyanmar is notorious for hosting cyberscam operations responsible for bilking people all over the world. These usually involve gaining victims\u2019 confidence online with romantic ploys and bogus investment pitches. The centers are infamous for recruiting workers from other countries under false pretenses, promising them legitimate jobs and then holding them captive and forcing them to carry out criminal activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n An October 2024 report<\/a> by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime described the use of Starlink in fraud operations. About 80 \u201cStarlink satellite dishes linked to cyber-enabled fraud operations\u201d were seized between April and June 2024 in Myanmar and Thailand, the report said. Starlink is prohibited in both countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDespite Starlink use being strictly monitored and, in some cases, restricted through geofencing, organized crime groups appear to have found ways around existing security protocols in order to access the remote high-speed Internet connectivity made possible by this portable technology,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In July this year, US Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to prevent criminals from using Starlink for scam operations that target Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile SpaceX has stated that it investigates and deactivates Starlink devices in various contexts, it seemingly has not publicly acknowledged the use of Starlink for scams originating in Southeast Asia\u2014or publicly discussed actions the company has taken in response,\u201d Hassan wrote in a letter to Musk<\/a>. \u201cScam networks in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, however, have apparently continued to use Starlink despite service rules permitting SpaceX to terminate access for fraudulent activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hassan is the top Democrat on the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, which is reportedly investigating the use of Starlink in the scam operations. Dreyer said last night that SpaceX is committed to \u201cdetecting and preventing misuse by bad actors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nMyanmar \u201cnotorious for hosting cyberscam operations\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Senator urged Musk to take action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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