US Secret Service, UK and Canada launch Operation Atlantic targeting crypto approval phishing scams

Operation Atlantic is an international law enforcement effort, co-hosted by the U.S. Secret Service, the UK’s National Crime Agency, and the Ontario Provincial Police, aimed at targeting criminal networks responsible for approval-phishing scams that have stolen millions from cryptocurrency users. These scams trick victims into signing malicious transactions, granting attackers full control over their wallets, often linked to "pig butchering" investment fraud. The operation involves private industry partners to identify victims, recover funds, and increase public awareness. Despite a significant drop in tracked losses from $494 million in 2024 to $83.85 million in 2025 for signature phishing, scam operations are becoming more industrialized, as evidenced by phishing-as-a-service networks like the China-based "Smishing Triad."

(Source：The Block)