Overview

• On July 28 Senator Maggie Hassan asked Elon Musk to explain by August 18 when SpaceX first became aware of Starlink’s misuse in scam operations and to outline its policies for investigating and disabling compromised terminals.
• Data from human rights organizations indicates that scam groups in Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia have more than doubled their use of Starlink despite regional efforts to sever internet cables.
• The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the U.S. Secret Service attribute billions of dollars in losses and over 8,000 digital asset scam complaints since late 2022 to Southeast Asian fraud rings leveraging Starlink’s portable network.
• Law enforcement and media investigations have revealed hundreds of Starlink terminals at forced-labor scam compounds, and Thai authorities have confiscated over 130 devices in recent raids.
• SpaceX has not yet publicly addressed Hassan’s inquiries or detailed whether it has deactivated or imposed geofencing limits on Starlink terminals used for illicit activities.