Law enforcement agencies from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada concluded Operation Atlantic late last month, targeting a cryptocurrency scam known as "approval phishing," according to an April 14 announcement. The operation disrupted more than $45 million in losses related to fraudulent activity.
The initiative is significant due to the growing prevalence of online scams involving cryptocurrencies. Approval phishing occurs when individuals unknowingly grant scammers access to their crypto wallets through deceptive pop-up ads or links, often resulting in irreversible loss of funds.
Authorities reported that over $12 million was transferred from victims’ wallets but subsequently frozen with the aim of restitution. An additional $33 million suspected of being connected to fraud schemes was identified for further investigation. Investigators tracked transactions in real time and froze suspicious assets, identifying more than 20,000 wallet addresses linked to victims across over 30 countries. Analysts contacted more than 3,000 account holders directly to educate them about the scam and revoke unauthorized access.
Brent Daniels, deputy assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations, said: “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.”
Operation Atlantic follows a similar effort called Project Atlas led by Canadian law enforcement with participation from the Secret Service that disrupted $70 million in fraudulent transactions in 2024. Detective Superintendent Jennifer Spurrell of Ontario Provincial Police said: “Project Atlas demonstrated the power of coordinated disruption. We’re proud to be part of Operation Atlantic, which builds on that approach by uniting international partners to take action in real time.”
The operation involved multiple agencies including the U.K.’s National Crime Agency; Ontario Provincial Police; Ontario Securities Commission; U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington D.C.; City of London Police; Financial Conduct Authority (U.K.), Royal Canadian Mounted Police; as well as private-sector partners such as crypto exchanges who helped identify and disrupt over 120 web domains used by scammers.
Daniels said: “Operation Atlantic demonstrated the importance and need for international collaboration to stop cryptocurrency fraud. I am extremely proud of the hard work of everyone involved.”
