The US Secret Service, the UK's National Crime Agency, and Canada's Ontario Provincial Police and Ontario Securities Commission have launched Operation Atlantic.
Law enforcement agencies from the US, the UK, and Canada have launched Operation Atlantic, a coordinated initiative aimed at identifying victims of cryptocurrency fraud, disrupting organised scam networks, and raising public awareness about crypto investment schemes.
The operation is co-hosted by the US Secret Service, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Additional participating agencies include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the City of London Police, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. Private sector partners are also involved.
Targeting approval phishing
Operation Atlantic focuses specifically on 'approval phishing', a method increasingly linked to cryptocurrency investment fraud, commonly referred to as 'pig butchering'. In this type of scam, victims are tricked into granting wallet access by responding to what appears to be a legitimate prompt from a trusted application or service. Once access is granted, criminals gain full control of the wallet and can transfer funds without restriction. Because blockchain transactions are irreversible, recovery of stolen assets is also rarely possible.
With this in mind, the operation aims to identify victims in near real-time, assist them in securing their assets, recover stolen funds where feasible, and disrupt the fraud networks behind these schemes. A company official at the UK's NCA noted that such scams are growing in sophistication, reinforcing the need for coordinated cross-border responses.
Operation Atlantic builds on Project Atlas, a 2024 initiative led by the OPP and attended by the US Secret Service, which targeted international cryptocurrency investment fraud networks. The current operation expands that model by uniting additional international partners and adopting a real-time disruption approach.
The OSC, which serves as a co-host, holds a mandate that includes investor protection, capital market integrity, and the reduction of systemic risk, functions that align directly with the financial harm posed by cryptocurrency scams.
The participation of securities regulators alongside criminal law enforcement agencies reflects a broader recognition that cryptocurrency fraud operates at the intersection of financial crime and capital markets regulation. Approval phishing campaigns frequently target retail investors, while also exploiting the relative novelty and complexity of digital asset management.
Victims who believe they may be affected can access resources through the US Secret Service, the NCA, the OPP, and the OSC via their respective official websites.
