{"id":2961,"date":"2026-04-09T14:54:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/?p=2961"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:54:20","slug":"operation-atlantic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/operation-atlantic\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Atlantic Freezes $12M in Crypto Scam Funds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"gb-block-image gb-block-image-08c703ed\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" class=\"gb-image gb-image-08c703ed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-10T002216.120.webp\" alt=\"Operation Atlantic Freezes $12M in Crypto Scam Funds\" title=\"Untitled design - 2026-04-10T002216.120\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-10T002216.120.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-10T002216.120-300x157.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-10T002216.120-768x402.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities in the UK, US, and Canada have taken a major step against crypto fraud, freezing more than $12 million linked to large-scale scam operations. The coordinated effort, known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk\/news\/operation-atlantic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Operation Atlantic<\/a>, focused on a growing threat called \u201capproval phishing\u201d and has already helped protect thousands of victims worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Led by the UK\u2019s National Crime Agency (NCA), the operation uncovered over 20,000 victims affected by these scams. Investigators also traced more than $45 million in suspected fraudulent activity tied to the same network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Approval phishing is a particularly dangerous type of crypto scam. Instead of directly stealing funds, attackers trick users into approving malicious blockchain transactions. Once access is granted, scammers can drain tokens from victims\u2019 wallets without needing further permission. This method has quickly become one of the most effective tools for cybercriminals in the crypto space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Operation Atlantic was carried out in collaboration with several major agencies, including the US Secret Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Ontario Securities Commission. The initiative ran as a focused, week-long campaign in March, combining real-time tracking with proactive intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather than simply tracing stolen funds after the damage was done, authorities took a more aggressive approach. They worked to identify individuals who had already lost funds\u2014or were at risk\u2014and acted quickly to secure assets before criminals could move them further through laundering channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis supported the effort, helping investigators map out the scam networks. The firm described approval phishing as a fast-growing threat and confirmed that the operation successfully froze over $12 million while tracking tens of millions more in stolen crypto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Private companies also played an important role. Binance\u2019s Special Investigations team assisted on-site at the NCA\u2019s London headquarters, offering live account screening and fraud intelligence. The team also helped identify active scam websites. However, Binance clarified that no funds were frozen on its platform during the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials say the results go beyond just the money recovered. According to NCA deputy director Miles Bonfield, the operation helped stop criminals in their tracks and prevented further losses for many potential victims across different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">While $12 million may seem small compared to the overall crypto market, Operation Atlantic highlights a bigger trend. Law enforcement agencies and private firms are increasingly working together in real time to fight sophisticated crypto crimes.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The case also serves as a warning for users. In many cases, the biggest risk comes from transactions users unknowingly approve themselves\u2014making awareness and caution more important than ever in the crypto world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also read : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/ceasefire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wall Street Jumps as Ceasefire Boosts Tech Stocks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Authorities in the UK, US, and Canada have taken a major step against crypto fraud, freezing more than $12 million &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Operation Atlantic Freezes $12M in Crypto Scam Funds\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/operation-atlantic\/#more-2961\" aria-label=\"Read more about Operation Atlantic Freezes $12M in Crypto Scam Funds\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[6960,6969,6967,6972,6971,6958,6964,6970,6962,6966,6963,6961,6965,6968,6959],"class_list":["post-2961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-approval-phishing-crypto-scam-explained","tag-binance-role-in-crypto-scam-investigation","tag-blockchain-fraud-investigation-case-study","tag-chainalysis-crypto-scam-tracking-tools","tag-cross-border-crypto-crime-enforcement-action","tag-crypto-scam-crackdown-operation-atlantic","tag-crypto-scam-funds-frozen-by-authorities","tag-crypto-scam-victims-protection-strategies","tag-crypto-security-tips-for-wallet-users","tag-crypto-wallet-approval-phishing-attack-prevention","tag-how-approval-phishing-drains-crypto-wallets","tag-how-to-avoid-crypto-approval-phishing-scams","tag-latest-crypto-fraud-news-2026","tag-nca-crypto-fraud-operation-details","tag-uk-us-canada-crypto-fraud-investigation","resize-featured-image"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-design-2026-04-10T002216.120.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2963,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2961\/revisions\/2963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decentralnetwork.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- This website is optimized by Airlift. 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