Operation Atlantic: NCA-led sweep IDs 20,000 crypto fraud victims, freezes $12M

A week-long joint operation coordinated from the UK National Crime Agency’s London headquarters identified more than 20,000 victims of cryptocurrency fraud across the UK, US, and Canada. Operation Atlantic pulled together the NCA, US Secret Service, Ontario Provincial Police, the Ontario Securities Commission, City of London Police, the FCA, and private industry partners, who shared real-time intelligence to disrupt multiple fraud networks. Investigators froze over $12 million in suspected criminal proceeds and traced roughly $45 million in stolen crypto tied to global schemes.

Much of the activity centered on approval phishing, where attackers manipulate victims into granting wallet permissions, typically through investment scam lures. The public-private intelligence-sharing model is being positioned as a template for the UK’s newly announced Fraud Strategy, which leans on industry data feeds combined with law enforcement reach to head off fraud earlier.

The scale dwarfs even these numbers. The FBI’s parallel Operation Level Up has identified more than 8,000 pig-butchering victims since January 2024, with about 77% unaware they were being scammed. The Bureau’s 2025 Internet Crime Report logged 61,559 crypto investment fraud complaints tied to $7.228 billion in losses last year — a 48% jump in complaints and 25% increase in losses year-over-year.