Law enforcement in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada teamed up for Operation Atlantic, a coordinated sweep that uncovered more than $45 million in cryptocurrency tied to global fraud schemes and targeted approval phishing scams that give criminals access to victims’ wallets.
Operation Atlantic ran for a week and focused on tracking illicit funds, identifying victims, and disrupting the infrastructure scammers use to steal crypto. Agencies zeroed in on approval phishing, a trick where users are duped into granting wallet permissions that allow fraudsters to transfer assets. The campaign mixed public and private resources to move quickly against criminal networks operating across borders.
Investigators traced more than 20,000 cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to fraud victims in over 30 countries, including Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. From those traces, $12 million (USD) in funds that had been moved out of victims’ wallets were frozen to preserve the chance of return. An additional $33 million (USD) was identified as likely tied to investment fraud schemes and is now under further review.
Approval phishing typically shows up as a fake pop-up or alert that looks like it comes from a trusted app or service connected to a crypto investment. Victims click approve and unintentionally grant full access to their wallets, letting criminals move funds instantly and irreversibly. Once transfers happen on-chain, reversing them is nearly impossible and recovering assets becomes a long legal and technical fight.
“Operation Atlantic demonstrated the importance and need for international collaboration to stop cryptocurrency fraud,” said Brent Daniels, the Assistant Director for the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations. “Through this operation, investigators prevented millions of dollars in fraud losses and disrupted millions more in fraudulent transactions denying criminals the ability to prey on innocent victims. I am extremely proud of the hard work of everyone involved during this operation.”
“Operation Atlantic is a powerful example of what is possible when international agencies and private industry work side by side,” said Miles Bonfield, Deputy Director of Investigations at the UK’s National Crime Agency. “This intensive action has led to the safeguarding of thousands of victims in the UK and overseas, stopped criminals in their tracks and helped save others from losing their funds. We know that fraudsters operate globally and, together with our international partners, so will the NCA to target them wherever they are based.”
“The results from Operation Atlantic underscore the strong and ongoing commitment to capital markets enforcement and investor protection shared by the Ontario Securities Commission and our international partners,” said Bonnie Lysyk, Executive Vice President, Enforcement, OSC. “We will continue to pursue bad actors, deepen cross border collaboration, and apply advanced enforcement techniques to identify and disrupt crypto enabled fraud.”
The operation identified and directly contacted more than 3,000 people who were at risk of losing, or who had already lost, crypto assets through approval phishing. Teams also disrupted over 120 web domains used by scammers to host fraudulent schemes and harvest approvals and credentials. That takedown work included seizures, freezes and coordination with private industry partners that flagged malicious infrastructure.
Participating lead agencies included the U.S. Secret Service, the UK’s National Crime Agency, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Securities Commission, with additional support from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, City of London Police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Private sector collaborators played an integral role in identifying malicious activity and helping trace funds. The multi-jurisdictional approach aimed to close gaps criminals exploit when they spread activity across exchanges, services and borders.
“Through Operation Atlantic, investigators were able to disrupt fraud in progress and freeze millions of dollars linked to approval phishing schemes,” said Detective Superintendent Jennifer Spurrell, Director of Financial Crimes Services with the Ontario Provincial Police. “This operation demonstrates the real impact collaborative enforcement can have, reducing financial harm and helping individuals avoid the lasting financial consequences of fraud.”
Authorities emphasized that ongoing cooperation between law enforcement and industry is key to reducing losses and holding fraudsters accountable. The investigation will continue into the identified $33 million in suspect funds and the wallets and infrastructure tied to investment fraud. Officials noted resources and guidance are available to help potential victims understand these scams and the steps agencies are taking to respond.
