No Starlink services at Myanmar scam centres

YANGON: SpaceX has cut service to more than 2,500 Starlink internet devices at Myanmar scam centres, a company executive said Wednesday, after media revealed that their use had exploded in the illicit industry.

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Sprawling compounds where internet tricksters target foreigners with romance and business cons have thrived along Myanmar’s loosely governed border during its civil war, sparked by a 2021 coup.

A highly publicised crackdown starting in February saw around 7,000 workers repatriated and Thailand enact a cross-border internet blockade.

But an AFP investigation this month revealed construction has continued apace, while Starlink receivers have been installed en masse, seeming to connect the hubs to the Elon Musk-owned satellite internet network.