Pig-butchering scammers in Myanmar lose use of 2,500 Starlink  terminals.

Low Earth Pork

What’s the craic? James Reddick reports: SpaceX disables more than 2,000 Starlink devices used in Myanmar scam compounds

“Facilitating scams”
Advocates fighting against human trafficking have accused [Elon Musk’s] company for months of facilitating scamming operations. … In February, the Thai government cut off electricity and internet access to a handful of compounds across the border in an attempt to restrict criminals’ access to the tools needed to conduct scams. Starlink reportedly filled the void, however.
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Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) … called on Musk and SpaceX to crack down on their illicit use: “SpaceX has a responsibility to acknowledge any role that Starlink has played in facilitating scams … and to block these criminals from using the service.”

Myan-wherenow? Michael Kan calls it “a rare move”: SpaceX Disables 2,500 Starlink Dishes in Myanmar

“Civil war”
Myanmar is home to large, remote compounds where people are forced to execute scams through texts, apps, or websites, often with promises of cryptocurrency gains. To get online, the fraudsters have been subscribing to Starlink, … which excels [in] rural and remote areas. For months, human rights groups, journalists, and even US lawmakers have raised concerns about the Starlink use at these scam compounds, some of which use slave labor.
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Starlink has yet to officially arrive … in Myanmar, which is currently embroiled in a civil war. … But the scammers have still been gaining access, likely by subscribing to the Starlink Roam plan, which allows customers to access the satellite internet service for up to two months in a foreign country.

Horse’s mouth? VP of Starlink business operations, Lauren Dreyer:

“Misuse”
SpaceX complies with local laws … where Starlink is licensed to operate. SpaceX continually works to identify violations of our Acceptable Use Policy and applicable law because … the same technology that can provide immense benefits has a risk of misuse.
…
[If] we identify a violation, we take appropriate action, including working with law enforcement agencies. … In Myanmar, for example, SpaceX proactively identified and disabled over 2,500 Starlink Kits in the vicinity of suspected scam centers. We are committed to … preventing misuse by bad actors.

What’s this about pigs? whatsupdog barks:

These scams are getting really really out of hand. … Most of the Myanmar ones are “pig butchering,” so they even play with the victim’s emotions for a long long time. And it’s much much more difficult to get your life back on track after being scammed by someone you thought was the love of your life.

Who are the scammers who work there? brionl reminds us they’re often slaves, not willing participants:

These prison camps/scam centers … lure people in with false statements, kidnap them, keep them under lock and key, beatings and even death if they don’t make their quota. They should be shut down, no matter who is running them..

What took SpaceX so long? That’s what u/Mycatkoda would like to know:

Keep in mind though they’ve been using Starlink for months—since Thailand shut off internet access to them in Feb. And SpaceX hasn’t done anything about it until it starts getting mentioned in the media. They knew. They didn’t care until now.

Why doesn’t SpaceX simply cut off all Starlink access from unlicensed countries? It’s more complicated than that, thinks sabbede:

It’s unlicensed because the ruling military junta won’t grant the license. It is not in their interest to allow their opponents in the ongoing civil war, including the pro-democracy movement, access to the internet. It is in the West’s interests that pro-democracy forces win out, so it is for the benefit of those interests that Starlink allows those unlicensed dishes to operate. Likewise, I’m sure Starlink is prohibited in occupied Donetsk, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want it working there.

Oh. That makes sense, I guess. And lglethal has another nuanced angle:

It’s a bit of a “funny” story this one. The scam centres are run by “militias” allied to the Junta. The Junta makes a ton of money off them.
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This one got shut down [because] China appears to have given the Junta some specific names and said you will arrest these people and send them here for trial or else lose China’s backing. So they … made a big show and dance about shutting down these militias—even though it’s the ones that they are friends with—and then allowed the majority to get back to the work of running their scam centres.

Crikey. It’s a mess, thinks altacc:

The truth is more likely that both the junta and local militias have ties to different scam centres. The Myanmar government never does anything for its people, it’s motivated by power and money and they were profiting heavily from scam centres until China’s patience broke—due to large numbers of Chinese being trafficked and imprisoned [there]. As the junta lost control of the border regions, the local militias stepped in to either profit from scams or close them to please China, depending upon what they thought would benefit them most.

Meanwhile, rhgedaly is blissful:

I’m safe—the scammers are in Southeast Asia. The guy I’m wiring money to is a Prince in Nigeria.

And Finally:

2021-rolled

This month, we’re reprising the best of And Finally (because reasons).

Previously in And Finally

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