A major international law enforcement crackdown has resulted in the freezing of $12 million in cryptocurrency and the identification of more than 20,000 victims of sophisticated approval phishing scams. The joint 'Operation Atlantic,' led by authorities from the United Kingdom with support from the United States and Canada, announced the sweeping action today, revealing the massive scale of the fraud. In a key development, crypto exchange Binance confirmed it provided real-time, on-the-ground intelligence to help identify scam accounts, though it clarified it did not freeze any assets on its own platform as part of the operation.
Binance joined forces with law enforcement agencies from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada to target cryptocurrency fraud in an operation named “Operation Atlantic.” The multinational, interagency group focused on disrupting a specific type of scam known as “approval phishing,” which has led to hundreds of millions in stolen digital assets.
The operation was led by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and ran for one week in March 2026. Today, the NCA confirmed that law enforcement has frozen more than $12 million in suspected criminal proceeds across various platforms and protocols.
Furthermore, authorities have identified more than $45 million stolen in cryptocurrency fraud schemes globally. The operation also successfully identified over 20,000 victims located across the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
Approval phishing is a scam technique where victims unknowingly hand over control of their crypto wallets. Scammers trick users into signing a malicious blockchain transaction that gives the scammer permission, or “approval,” to move tokens out of the victim’s wallet whenever they want.
During Operation Atlantic, investigators discovered that scammers often sent fake pop-ups or alerts. These messages appeared to come from legitimate apps or popular investment services. Victims were asked to approve access to their wallets to solve a fake problem or secure an investment.
Once the victim clicked approve, the criminal gained full control of the wallet.
The operation identified and disrupted over 120 web domains that scammers were actively using to run these fraudulent schemes. One victim in the UK alone lost more than £52,000 (approximately $66,000) to this scheme.
Binance provided on-the-ground intelligence and screening support to freeze assets and find victims. Its Special Investigations Team was present at the NCA’s headquarters in London during the operation week.
Due to the pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions, Binance helped in identifying which accounts were linked to the scam addresses in real time. It assisted in identifying malicious websites that were still defrauding victims during the operation and also provided intelligence on potential bad actors and their addresses to support asset seizure efforts.
Binance confirmed that no funds were frozen on its own platform as part of this specific action.
Cryptopolitan reported that during the first phase of Operation Atlantic, authorities warned potential victims and helped them secure their assets with help from private industry partners.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the City of London Police, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) participated in that operation.
Miles Bonfield, Deputy Director of Investigations at the NCA, stated that the operation is a “powerful example of what is possible when international agencies and private industry work side by side.” He added that it “stopped criminals in their tracks.”
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