US Congress Launches Probe Into Starlink’s Alleged Role in Myanmar Scam Centres

A powerful bipartisan committee in the United States Congress has announced that it has opened an investigation into Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network over allegations that the service has been used to provide internet access to scam centres operating in Myanmar, which have been accused of swindling billions of dollars from victims around the world.

The development follows revelations that a growing number of Starlink dishes began appearing on the rooftops of scam compounds in Myanmar around the time authorities launched a crackdown in February, which was intended to shut down the operations. According to an investigation by Agence France-Presse (AFP), data from the APNIC Asian regional internet registry shows that Starlink has rapidly risen to become the war-torn country’s largest internet provider within just three months.

SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, has not responded to multiple requests for comment from AFP.

The US Congress Joint Economic Committee confirmed to AFP that it began investigating Starlink’s involvement with the Myanmar scam operations in July. The committee holds the authority to compel Musk to testify before it.

In February, China, Thailand and Myanmar had announced that pro-junta militias protecting the scam compounds had agreed to “eradicate” them. Authorities freed roughly 7,000 individuals—mostly Chinese nationals—from what the United Nations has described as a system built on forced labour and human trafficking.

Many of those released reported being beaten and coerced into working grueling hours for criminal bosses running call centre-style scams that target victims across the globe through phone, internet, and social media fraud.

Senator Maggie Hassan, the leading Democrat on the congressional committee, has urged Musk to take action to block Starlink’s service from reaching the criminal networks. “While most people have probably noticed the increasing number of scam texts, calls and emails, they may not know that transnational criminals halfway across the world may be perpetrating these scams by using Starlink internet access,” she said.

Hassan had previously written to Musk in July, demanding responses to 11 questions concerning Starlink’s potential role in enabling the fraud operations.

Former California prosecutor Erin West, who now leads Operation Shamrock, a campaign group targeting the Southeast Asian scam compounds, condemned the situation. “It is abhorrent that an American company is enabling this to happen,” she said.

West, while still serving as a cybercrime prosecutor, had reportedly warned Starlink in July 2024 that Chinese crime syndicates operating the scam centres were using its technology, but she received no reply.

According to the US Treasury Department, Americans remain among the prime targets of these transnational scams, losing an estimated $10 billion last year—a figure that represents a 66% increase over the previous year.

A 2023 United Nations report estimated that as many as 120,000 people could be “forced to carry out online scams” inside Myanmar’s compounds.

On the Thailand-Myanmar border, construction has surged inside heavily guarded complexes surrounding the town of Myawaddy. Satellite and drone footage obtained by AFP shows that several buildings are now equipped with Starlink receivers.

An analysis of satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC revealed that dozens of structures within the largest of the compounds, known as KK Park, were either newly built or undergoing modifications between March and September of this year.

By fLEXI tEAM