A week-long international law enforcement campaign by agencies in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada identified more than $45 million in cryptocurrency from fraud schemes worldwide.
Operation Atlantic focused on identifying and contacting victims, who unknowingly granted cybercriminals access to their cryptocurrency accounts through “approval phishing” scams.
Additionally, investigators identified more than 20,000 cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to fraud victims across more than 30 countries, including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. $12 million (USD) in fraudulent losses that were transferred out of victims’ wallets by fraudsters were frozen to return those funds.
Investigators identified an additional $33 million (USD) in funds that are believed to be linked to investment fraud schemes, and these will be investigated further.
“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 focused on identifying victims who may have lost - or are at risk of losing - crypto assets through approval phishing, which is designed to trick victims into unknowingly granting full access to their cryptocurrency wallets.
Over the course of Operation Atlantic, law enforcement identified and directly contacted more than 3,000 of these victims.
Scammers will send a fake pop-up or alert that appears to come from a trusted app or service, often linked to a cryptocurrency investment. Victims are asked to “approve” access. Criminals then gain full control of the user’s crypto wallet, allowing them to transfer funds. Once money leaves the victim’s account, the transactions can’t be reversed, and funds are difficult to recover.
Operation Atlantic identified and disrupted over 120 web domains used by scammers to conduct fraudulent schemes globally.
“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.”
Operation Atlantic was co-hosted by the U.S. Secret Service, the UK’s National Crime Agency, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Ontario Securities Commission. Additional agencies participating include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the City of London Police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. This effort was done in close collaboration with private industry partners, whose contributions were an integral part of the operation’s success.
“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.”
If someone believes they are a victim of this type of fraud, please visit this website for resources and additional information.
