This is a great interactive article about what it's like to be kidnapped and forced to work in these scam centers on the Myanmar border, lured by promise of jobs people are trapped, passports confiscated, phones stolen, 16-hour workdays spent defrauding victims online, cultivating fake relationships and pressuring them into investment or romance scams:
As early as a few years ago, these people were engaged in fraudulent activities in Southeast Asia. Most of them were Chinese, but the Chinese government was too soft and did not take effective measures against the fraud. As a result, for a long time, these people did not receive the approval of the dispute until a Korean appeared.
The vast majority of these are going to turn into AI bots shortly if they aren’t going strong already. The human (slave) in the loop will be there for big fish or to finish the job.
Myanmar military shuts down a major cybercrime center, detains over 2k people
(apnews.com)182 points by bikenaga 26 October 2025 | 55 comments
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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/my...
And that the people running them come from PRC Chinese organized crime (triads).
So how do starlinks work in Myanmar if it's not licensed?
https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/southeast-asia/myanmar-be...