Thousands of Americans have been lured into crypto and online-romance scams run from criminal compounds across Southeast Asia, and U.S. authorities say the infrastructure enabling those networks is finally in their sights. Federal investigators have issued a seizure warrant for Starlink satellite internet terminals allegedly used inside these scam complexes, marking one of the most aggressive steps yet in Washington’s crackdown on the global fraud industry.

The U.S. Justice Department revealed that scam networks operating out of Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and other zones where law enforcement access is limited have relied on Starlink units to stay connected, evade shutdowns, and run high-volume phishing and crypto fraud operations targeting Americans. Officials say the move to seize terminals is part of a broader initiative to pursue not only the scammers themselves but the technology enabling them.

The warrant follows months of U.S. pressure on companies whose tools are being repurposed by criminal organizations. Prosecutors say Starlink units, designed to provide connectivity in remote or disaster-struck regions, have become crucial to scam compounds known for trafficking victims and forcing them to operate fraud schemes under threat.

What most people are missing is how strategic this move is. For years, cross-border crypto and pig-butchering scams thrived because they sat beyond the reach of U.S. police and survived repeated shutdown attempts by relying on independent satellite internet. Cutting off that capability hits the business model, not just the workers or kingpins. It’s an escalation that expands accountability to suppliers of critical infrastructure if they fail to prevent misuse.

The implications are significant. If Washington succeeds in formalizing seizure or blocking mechanisms for hardware like Starlink, it could reshape how satellite connectivity providers monitor cross-border sales, redirect international compliance strategies, and collaborate with governments. It also signals that U.S. authorities are ready to disrupt infrastructure far outside their physical jurisdiction when American victims are targeted.

As one senior official told WIRED, the crackdown is entering a new phase, using every legal tool available to “choke off the systems these networks rely on.” What comes next will determine whether the global scam economy keeps adapting or finally starts to fracture under the pressure.