Key Takeaways:
- The NCA’s Operation Atlantic froze over $12 million in criminal crypto proceeds and identified 20,000 victims across 3 countries.
- More than $45 million in total cryptocurrency fraud was mapped globally, signaling how widespread approval phishing has become.
- The NCA and partners will continue analyzing Operation Atlantic intelligence to pursue suspects and support additional victims.
Operation Atlantic: NCA Targets Approval Phishing Scams, Freezes Over $12 Million
The weeklong action, called Operation Atlantic, was co-hosted by the NCA, U.S. Secret Service, Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Securities Commission. The operation focused on a fraud method known as approval phishing, where criminals trick victims into granting wallet access through fake investment platforms.
Victims are typically lured by what appear to be legitimate cryptocurrency investment opportunities. Once they approve a transaction, criminals gain direct control over their digital wallets and drain funds.
More than 20,000 victims were identified across the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Investigators also mapped more than $45 million in cryptocurrency stolen across fraud schemes worldwide.
One U.K. victim identified during the operation is believed to have lost more than 52,000 pounds to the scheme.
NCA: ‘We Know Fraudsters Operate Globally’
The NCA hosted participating agencies at its London headquarters. Real-time intelligence sharing allowed investigators and private sector partners to trace illicit transactions and flag victims while funds were still recoverable.
City of London Police, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and other international law enforcement bodies joined the operation alongside private industry partners.
NCA Deputy Director of Investigations Miles Bonfield said the operation showed what is possible when international agencies and private industry work side by side. He said the action helped safeguard thousands of victims in the U.K. and abroad and stopped criminals before additional funds could be moved.
“We know that fraudsters operate globally and, together with our international partners, so will the NCA to target them wherever they are based,” Bonfield said.
The public-private collaboration is expected to become a central element of the U.K. government’s Fraud Strategy, announced last month. That strategy is designed to connect data, knowledge and expertise across industry and law enforcement to allow earlier intervention in active fraud cases.
The NCA and its partners stressed that they will continue analyzing intelligence gathered during Operation Atlantic to support identified victims and build criminal cases.
Approval phishing has become one of the more effective tools used by crypto scammers in recent years. Victims often do not realize they have signed over wallet access until funds are already gone.
