Illegal cross-border internet link to Myanmar scam centres shut down

Cybercrime officers and telecom regulators have shut down a company near the Myanmar border in Mae Sot district of Thailand’s Tak province after it was found to have illegally supplied internet signals across the border to support call centre scam operations targeting people in Thailand.

Yesterday, officials from the Anti-Online Scam Centre (ACSC) of the Central Investigation Bureau, the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and True Corporation searched the suspected company, located in a cargo terminal beside the Moei River, under a court-issued search warrant.

True Corp officials said that a sudden surge in internet usage by two subscribers at the same premises was detected by their network monitoring and data analytics systems, prompting an investigation.

Network data traffic between February 22nd and 25th surged significantly and continued around the clock, which was atypical for normal office operations.

True Corp then tipped off the NBTC and the ACSC and an investigation was launched, leading to a field inspection and yesterday’s search of the premises.

Pol Lt-Col Trin Leewlanuch, an investigator at the ACSC, said the search revealed illegally installed and modified equipment being used to transmit internet signals across the border into Myanmar, adding that the network circuits were immediately terminated by True Corporation.

He said police are now looking for the company’s management for questioning.

The Thai government ordered the suspension of internet and mobile phone services to Myawaddy province of Myanmar last year after it was discovered that several Chinese-run call centre scam syndicates had used the services to defraud victims in Thailand and elsewhere.

Many of the call centres at KK Park and Shwe Kokko scam hubs in Myawaddy have been dismantled by anti-government rebel forces, forcing many suspected scammers to flee to Thailand and Cambodia.