According to the local news outlet Khaosod, officers at a checkpoint in Mae Sot district near the border with Myanmar stopped and inspected a white Isuzu pickup that contained more than three-dozen boxes concealing Starlink receivers, whose use has been documented within scam compounds in Myanmar. “Policymakers must coordinate implementation of stronger tech industry regulations to prevent the misuse of satellite and internet services and work with other private sector providers to go after the tools of the trade: malicious ads, spoofed phone calls or text messages, and fraudulent websites,” they wrote. Thai law enforcement on Saturday reportedly confiscated 38 Starlink satellite internet transmitters allegedly intended to be used in scam compounds in Myanmar. A subsequent Wired investigation reviewed mobile phone data that showed at least eight scam compounds using Starlink devices in the border areas. In February, the Thai government cut off electricity supply and telecommunications access to a handful of areas in Myanmar in an attempt to curb the booming scamming industry. On its website, Starlink says that “transmitting uninvited communications, data or information” as well as “engaging in conduct that is defamatory, fraudulent, obscene, or deceptive” is a violation of its policies and could lead to suspension or termination. Organized criminal groups have set up huge compounds near the Thai border where trafficked workers are forced to carry out a variety of scams, like fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes. The bust carried out by the Thai Army’s Ratchamanu Task Force and a drug suppression unit is at least the second seizure of Starlink devices in recent weeks.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Mon, 24 Mar 2025 19:40:08 +0000