Thailand cuts power and internet to areas of Myanmar to disrupt scam gangs

The government of Thailand has cut the power supply to areas near its border with Myanmar that are known to host brutal scam compounds. These heavily-guarded fraud factories house armies of people, coerced into defrauding innocent people through bogus investment and romance baiting scams.

The operators of the compounds earn billions of dollars each year from computer victims worldwide, with many of those in the compound misled or coerced to work for the scammers, trapped in virtual slavery.

In the past, media reports have published distressing details of the treatment of fraud factory workers on the Myanmar-Thai border and in Cambodia.

Citing national security concerns and the severe damage that the country has suffered due to the scammers has led to Thailand's National Security Council and other government agencies to agree to cut off electricity, internet, and gas supplies to five towns in Myanmar along the border with northern Thailand.

As AP reports, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was photographed shutting down the electricity supplies to five locations on the Thailand-Myanmar border yesterday.

According to Anutin, a clause in the energy supply contract allows Thailand to cut off the supply on the grounds of national security.

It is also likely that Thailand is concerned about any impact that the criminal activity may have on tourism, and will be keen to allay the safety fears of visitors.

Last month, a Chinese actor who had gone missing at the Thailand-Myanmar border was found in an area where online scam networks are known to operate. Wang Xing told Thai police that he had been the victim of human trafficking, and that he had been tricked into believing he had a job with a major Thai entertainment company. In reality, according to Wang Xing, he was put to work in a call scam compound targeting Chinese people.

Myanmar, meanwhile, has not been entirely silent about the problem. Last month is state-run newspaper, the Global New Light of Myanmar, described how the country's military government had repatriated more than 55,000 foreigners, mostly Chinese, back to their home countries after being forced to work in scam compounds.

The cutting off of essential services like electricity and the internet is certainly an indication of how seriously the Thai government is taking the challenge of combatting human trafficking, and those hosting scam compounds. However, there is no indication in the report as to what innocent uninvolved parties may also have been impacted by the switching off of energy and internet connectivity.

This indicates a strong stance against cybercrime and human trafficking.