Elon Musk’s SpaceX has disabled more than 2,500 Starlink devices used by cyber scam syndicates in Myanmar to defraud people worldwide.
“SpaceX proactively identified and disabled over 2,500 Starlink Kits in the vicinity of suspected ‘scam centers.‘” Vice President of SpaceX Lauren Dreyer said on X on Oct. 21. “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.”
The announcement comes after the media outlet Agence-France-Presse (AFP) revealed that SpaceX is under investigation by the Congressional Joint Economic Committee for its role in enabling the scam centers.
This system became critical to the criminal operations after an earlier crackdown.
In February, following international pressure, Thailand cut power and internet cables to the scam centers in neighboring Myanmar, CNET reported. The syndicates immediately exploited Starlink’s ability to bypass local infrastructure, installing thousands of Starlink terminals to stay online and keep the fraud machine running.
These compounds, approximately 30 of which exist along the Myanmar-Thailand border, are dedicated to scamming victims, including Americans, out of billions of dollars every year, according to a recent report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
In 2024, U.S. residents lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scam operations, notorious for romance scams also called “pig butchering,” the Treasury Department reported.
Workers inside these heavily guarded compounds are often trafficked or lured with false promises of well-paid jobs, then held against their will and forced to carry out online fraud, CNN reported. Former detainees said that beatings and torture are common for those who fail to meet their scamming quotas.
In February, China freed around 7,000 scam-workers, who the AFP suspects were from the Myanmar compounds. Still, the criminal networks have persisted.
The United States has raised concerns for over a year about criminal networks in Myanmar using Starlink to carry out their scams.
Starlink has more than 6 million active customers worldwide and is connected to individual households, schools, health centers and businesses, including most major cruise lines and several commercial airlines.
Here’s how to stay safe from a “pig butchering” scam, according to the U.S. Secret Service:
Be wary of people on dating sites who offer unsolicited financial, investment or cryptocurrency adviceBe cautious of unsolicited investment opportunities offered via phone, message, email, social media or in personAlways question the legitimacy of projects that sound too good to be true, are advertised as having high rates of returns with little or no risk to personal financial investment deposit or are advertised as “the next big thing”Shield from scenarios that encourage the opening of an account on a cryptocurrency trading platform and transfer funds from a bank account to invest in cryptocurrency projects Never share personal financial information with strangers
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.