Scammer’s plan to use Starlink satellites in transnational scam network targeting Thailand

[webfact]

Police Lieutenant General Jiraphat Phuridet briefing the media on Friday, April 12th, on the haul discovered by police. Valued at ฿5.4 million, it appeared to be a call centre operation on the move out of Myanmar to Laos within the Golden Triangle.

 

Thai police disrupt a transnational scam network using Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite, targeting Thailand with high-tech operations spanning across Asia and other parts of the world.

Thai police, on Friday, revealed that they have disrupted a call scammer gang that planned to use Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network to link it with telecommunications networks across the world including the European Union, the United Kingdom and Asia. Starlink is a commercial satellite firm operated by Musk’s SpaceX. Police are still studying the find of hardware and data destined for the Golden Triangle area in Laos via Chiang Rai. However, they believe it was Chinese-controlled and in transit from war-torn Myanmar. It was staffed by Burmese, Thai, Lao and Chinese personnel. The find comes after a December 2023 report across Asia showed that Thai people are the most susceptible population to online scams.

 

Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has made a breakthrough discovery into the operations of scammers network on the country’s borders.

 

The discovery occurred after a parcel was posted from the United Kingdom to an address in Chiang Mai. It indicated that an extensive international scammer organisation may be on the move.

 

by James Morris and Son Nguyen

 

Full story: Thai Examiner.com 2024-04-15

 

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[bubblegum]

Read this 3 times but still not sure what's it about.

[simon43]

Since (AFAIK), the use of Starlink is not authorised in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos (ie - no ground station connection into the telecoms system), I don't see how this could work.  Starlink has to up/downlink the data to a ground station within the footprint of its signal, and since it's in a LEO (low-earth-orbit), about 400km above the Earth, that means a ground station in either Laos, Thailand or Myanmar.

 

But what do I know? 🙂

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, simon43 said:

Since (AFAIK), the use of Starlink is not authorised in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos (ie - no ground station connection into the telecoms system), I don't see how this could work.  Starlink has to up/downlink the data to a ground station within the footprint of its signal, and since it's in a LEO (low-earth-orbit), about 400km above the Earth, that means a ground station in either Laos, Thailand or Myanmar.

 

But what do I know? 🙂

More than me, and that's not a lot about  Starlink

[Lee65]

8 hours ago, bubblegum said:

Read this 3 times but still not sure what's it about.

 

The linked article is not much better.  Writers at the Thai Examiner are apparently paid by the word.