Copyright The Street
Starlink has revolutionized the world of internet access, enabling just about anyone to access high-speed connectivity from anywhere in the world. While getting fast internet service to remote places used to be all but impossible, Elon Musk’s company has found a way to do it. Since this service works where others don’t, adoption of Starlink has been widespread. The Starlink website explains that it is “being used by so many people, businesses, and organizations in ~150 countries, territories, and other markets around the world, spanning all 7 continents and oceans.” Further, more than seven million people use Starlink to get online from anywhere, with virtually no setup required. Recently, however, some of those users found that their service had been shut off. SpaceX disabled Starlink service for over 2,500 devices. And the company had a very good reason: protecting consumers. The 2,500+ Starlink devices were disabled because the devices were being used to connect scammers to the internet. Cyber scam syndicates operating along the border between Myanmar and Thailand went largely unregulated and had been allowed to proliferate, as Myanmar is in the middle of a civil war, and stopping internet scammers isn’t exactly a top priority. More news: Airline cuts last flight into this US city, refunds available TSA issues stern warning on item over 13 million Americans use Spirit Airlines cuts more flights and jobs amid second bankruptcy Lauren Dreyer, vice president of Starlink business operations for SpaceX, commented on the Starlinks shutdown in an X post. She said SpaceX proactively identified and disabled over 2,500 Starlink Kits in the vicinity of suspected “scam centers” in Myanmar. Dreyer explained: Dreyer’s post did not identify the specific date when the Starlinks had been disabled. However, her post was made on October 21, 2025. The Myanmar scam centers have been a point of concern for the U.S. for over a year. Barron’s reported that Agence France-Presse conducted an investigation earlier in October. It revealed Starlink devices installed at a “huge scale” on the roofs of compounds in Myanmar, where people were perpetrating cyber scams. Consumers will benefit from shutdown of Starlink devices If the loss of Starlink service causes the scam centers to shut down, even temporarily, this could be a big boon to consumers, who have faced significant losses from the cybercriminals operating them. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute reported recently on “Scamland Myanmar,” including that the permissive landscape in the area had led to many scam centers being developed that were “thoroughly integrated into Myanmar’s conflict economy.” The scam centers are targeting people across the globe. Not only are the scammers bilking innocent consumers out of thousands of dollars, but workers at the scam centers are often trafficked from other countries. They’re usually promised a job and good benefits, but then they end up being forced to scam people with fake romance scams and fake investments. Consumers may not face such huge losses next year The Treasury Department indicates that U.S. consumers lost at least an estimated $10 billion to scams run out of Southeast Asia. This has included not just Myanmar, but also other areas such as Cambodia. If Musk’s company can cut off Starlink service to these scammers, as Dreyer revealed it did in Myanmar, it could curtail the ability of criminals to target innocent U.S. victims, who may get tricked out of their life savings.
