Starlink could be linked to scam call centres in Myanmar-Thai border, say officials as India repatriates over 500 nationals

Possible link between Starlink internet and cyber fraud in Myanmar-Thailand border, as Indian citizens repatriated from scam call centres.

In the backdrop of the Indian Air Force (IAF) repatriating 549 Indian citizens who were employed in the scam call centres operating in Thai-Myanmar border, official sources here have indicated that there is a “possible” link between the call centres defrauding Indian citizens and the use of Starlink internet connection in the scam call centres.

The assertion came in the backdrop of reported use of Starlink by the rebel outfits and humanitarian organisations inside Myanmar where Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) have been using the Starlink terminals to connect with the outer world from inside the forested regions of the country where an armed conflict is raging between the EAOs and the armed forces of the junta that deposed the democratic government of Myanmar on February 1, 2021.

The first batch of Indians were repatriated on Monday and the second batch were brought back in a C17 Globemaster aircraft of the IAF on Wednesday. The Hindu had reported that the individuals were kept in custody of the authorities for interrogation to ascertain how such a large number of Indian nationals were hired to work in the Thai-Myanmar border area where the rule of law is lax.

Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) has informed that the repatriated individuals were trapped in “cyber slavery” raising questions about how such operations had been continuing and what sort of tech support they were able to utilise to trap job-seeking Indian nationals.

The Embassy of India in Myanmar said that the Indian nationals who were trapped in such “scam compounds” were repatriated through Mae Sot in Thailand.

The link between the use of Starlink network and the forced cyber fraud compounds in Myanmar-Thailand border has attracted attention as the satellite internet service provider is being viewed as the facilitator for the fraud compounds where internet connection was earlier cut by the authorities of the region. In February, U.S.-based tech news service WIRED had reported that cyber fraud centres in Myawaddy of Myanmar close to Thailand border had been using Starlink devices to circumvent crackdown by Thai authorities.

Starlink does not have official permission to operate in Myanmar and the company’s global map does not show its activity in Myanmar but stakeholders active in the area have gone on record to reveal that the internet service provider is available in Myanmar. David Eubank, founder of the Free Burma Rangers, a group active in conflict zones in Southeast Asia and West Asia, expressed gratitude to tech billionaire and Starlink owner Elon Musk for the use of his company’s internet service.