Three-Nation Alliance Targets Cryptocurrency Phishing Schemes in New Initiative
Law enforcement authorities from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada have united under 'Operation Atlantic' to combat phishing scams targeting cryptocurrency users.
A collaborative partnership between the US Secret Service, UK National Crime Agency, and Canadian law enforcement has been established to combat crypto-related fraudulent operations, enhance public awareness about scam activities, and facilitate the recovery of funds stolen from victims.
Through a public announcement released on Monday, participating law enforcement bodies from the three nations — which include the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Securities Commission from Canada — revealed they have initiated "Operation Atlantic," which centers on locating individuals who face the risk of losing digital assets or have previously fallen victim to crypto theft via "approval phishing" tactics.
Brent Daniels, deputy assistant director for the US Secret Service's Office of Field Operations, stated that "Approval phishing and investment scams cost victims millions in financial loss each year." The participating agencies expressed their objective to identify and neutralize these fraudulent schemes as they occur in near real-time.
Based on data from Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics platform, approval phishing scams are defined as incidents where "the scammer trick[ing] the user into signing a malicious blockchain transaction that gives the scammer's address approval to spend specific tokens inside the victim's wallet, allowing the scammer to then drain the victim's address of those tokens at will."
As reported by the Ontario Securities Commission, Operation Atlantic represents an expansion of the commission's Project Atlas. The operation was launched in 2024 by the Ontario Provincial Police with the US Secret Service and targeted crypto fraud networks.
Additional collaboration for the initiative will include participation from 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 (FCA).
Are different phishing scams on the rise?
Phishing scams typically employ different methods, seemingly from legitimate sources, that trick users into giving fraudsters access to their crypto wallets. Based on a monthly report from Nominis, a crypto intelligence platform, phishing attacks increased sharply in February, but the amount stolen in crypto-related scams and exploits overall fell to $49 million from $385 million in January.
In 2024, Chainalysis launched Operation Spincaster, which focused on targeting "approval phishing" scams, and according to their findings, these schemes had resulted in $2.7 billion in crypto stolen between May 2021 and July 2024.