International Operation Atlantic Seizes $12M in Cryptocurrency Phishing Fraud
A collaborative enforcement effort spanning the US, UK, and Canada resulted in the freezing of over $12 million connected to cryptocurrency approval phishing schemes, with more than 20,000 victims discovered.
Law enforcement agencies from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada have successfully frozen several million dollars connected to cryptocurrency fraud schemes through a coordinated enforcement initiative known as Operation Atlantic.
The initiative, which targeted phishing-based attacks, was executed during March and involved coordination between the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, the United States Secret Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Securities Commission.
According to the NCA's announcement on Thursday, Operation Atlantic discovered over 20,000 victims throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, successfully securing and freezing in excess of $12 million in funds suspected to be criminal proceeds. The agency further stated that it identified "more than $45 million stolen in cryptocurrency fraud schemes."
Operation Atlantic is a powerful example of what is possible when international agencies and private industry work side by side.
Miles Bonfield, NCA Deputy Director of Investigations
The enforcement initiative included participation from Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform, based on a separate announcement released by the company.
What is an approval phishing scam?
Approval phishing schemes deceive users into authorizing malicious permissions that grant attackers the ability to access and empty cryptocurrency wallets.
In contrast to conventional scams, where fraudsters deceive victims into directly transferring cryptocurrency to them, approval phishing schemes manipulate victims into unwittingly granting authorization for malicious transactions that enable scammers to control specific tokens held within the victim's wallet.
Approval phishing is one of the most damaging types of scams targeting crypto users today.
Flavio Tonon, Binance's senior regional advisor for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region
He emphasized that the operation demonstrates how effective law enforcement becomes achievable when private sector and public sector partners collaborate together, further noting that the transparent nature of blockchain technology creates challenges for criminals attempting to evade detection following phishing exploits.
No funds were frozen on Binance as part of the operation
Operation Atlantic featured on-location investigations conducted at the London headquarters of the NCA, during which Binance stated that its Special Investigations team delivered support, which included live account screening capabilities and scam intelligence data.
The exchange platform additionally provided analytical insights regarding potential bad actors for the purpose of supporting asset seizure initiatives, and performed research that successfully identified scam websites that remained actively engaged in defrauding victims during the timeframe of the operation.
Binance confirmed that no funds were frozen on Binance accounts.