Myanmar Scammers Adopt Starlink in Bid to Evade Internet Blackout

 

Despite concerted efforts by Thailand to cripple their operations by cutting internet cables, Myanmar's notorious call centre scammers are proving resilient, now turning to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet.

 

The shift has led to a noticeable proliferation of Starlink's distinctive white dishes across rooftops in Myawaddy, a key hub for these criminal enterprises. Analysts suggest Starlink has become their primary means of telecommunications access.

 

The problem, it appears, "persists," even after Thai authorities severed the internet lines. These scam gangs have effectively bypassed traditional phone and cable connections, opting for Starlink's satellite-based service.

 

Data from mobile phones, shared with Nikkei Asia by the International Justice Mission (IJM) – a US human rights group combating human trafficking – reveals that these criminal outfits have more than "doubled" their use of Starlink since the initial cable cuts.

 

"This is an emerging trend," noted Eric Heinz, a global analyst at IJM. "You'll especially see an increase in KK Park and in some of the larger buildings," he added, referring to scam centres in Myawaddy. "In Google satellite photos, you can see numerous small Starlink antennas on the rooftops."

 

To gauge the extent of Starlink's adoption by these criminal groups, IJM gathered mobile phone data via advertising industry tools and mobile network providers.

 

Heinz cautioned that the collected data might still be an underestimate of the actual Starlink connections but nonetheless indicates a clear trend.

 

 

IJM's data from eight major criminal enclaves in Myawaddy and surrounding areas showed 2,492 Starlink connections in April 2025. This figure is "more than double" that of April 2024, the month before Thailand's internet blockade took full effect.

 

Further corroboration comes from Google Earth images from 2025, which clearly show the criminals' rooftops dotted with Starlink's characteristic "white rectangular dishes"—structures entirely absent the previous year.

 

Elon Musk's company boasts the world's largest satellite internet service, with nearly 8,000 satellites orbiting Earth at low altitudes.

 

"Although not permitted in Myanmar, Starlink has become 'the primary form of satellite telecommunications access' for these criminal groups," explained Jacob Sims, a visiting scholar at Harvard's Asia Center who researches transnational crime in Southeast Asia.

 

The Starlink kit, comprising a dish, router, and cables, is readily connectable to the satellite signal transmitted to subscribing countries. I

 

Its compact size, less than 40 x 60 centimetres, makes the flat dishes small enough to carry in a backpack and easily smuggle across borders.

 

Michelle Moore, Asia Regional Director for Global Alms—a non-profit based in Mae Sot on the Thai border that aids victims of call centre scams—confirmed that she can see "Starlink dishes" sprouting on the buildings used by these criminal groups from the Thai side.

 

Moore noted these dishes started appearing in 2023 following a previous, albeit short-lived, attempt by Thailand to disrupt the gangs' internet and phone access. Since then, their numbers have steadily grown.

 

 

"You can see them on rooftops, on balconies; they're all over the scam buildings. I don't know if there's any building situated on the Thai-Myanmar border now that doesn't have Starlink," she stated. "This is their new way."

 

Pol Gen Thatchai Pitaneelabutr, Director of the Royal Thai Police's Cyber Crime Suppression Centre, acknowledged that precise figures on the reduction of fraudulent calls to other countries are unavailable. He conceded that as many as 100,000 individuals might still be working in these call centres.

 

He also admitted that the smuggling of fuel and Starlink equipment into Myanmar is severely undermining Thailand's "three-cut measure" (cutting off oil, electricity, and internet).

 

Pol Gen Thatchai stated that Thailand has engaged with foreign government agencies to persuade Starlink to block services in the border regions, though he did not provide further details.

 

"We are working on this, and I hope we can get Starlink to shut down those tools," Pol Gen Thatchai said. "Otherwise, I think it's quite difficult for us to stop their operations if they continue to use Starlink for internet."