Operation Atlantic Approval Phishing Network
Summary
Operation Atlantic was a week-long multinational law enforcement operation conducted in late March and early April 2026, co-hosted by the U.S. Secret Service, the UK National Crime Agency, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Ontario Securities Commission. The operation targeted cryptocurrency approval phishing fraud networks spanning more than 30 countries, resulting in $12 million in stolen funds frozen, over 20,000 compromised wallet addresses identified, 120 scam domains disrupted, and $45 million in total fraud identified. No criminal arrests or indictments were publicly announced as part of this operation; its primary mandate was disruption, victim outreach, and asset freezing.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(8 events)
2024-01-01
Project Atlas launched by the Ontario Provincial Police and U.S. Secret Service, identifying 2,000+ compromised wallets across 14 countries and freezing approximately $24 million in stolen cryptocurrency.
CoinTelegraph / Crypto Times2024-01-01
Operation Spincaster conducted with Chainalysis as analytic partner, generating 7,000+ investigative leads tied to approximately $162 million in approval phishing losses.
CoinDesk2026-03-16
U.S. Secret Service, UK NCA, Ontario Provincial Police, and Ontario Securities Commission publicly announced the launch of Operation Atlantic, a multinational operation targeting cryptocurrency approval phishing fraud.
U.S. Secret Service Press Release2026-03-16
CoinDesk, CoinTelegraph, and other crypto news outlets report on the Operation Atlantic launch, providing public awareness of the operation's scope and target crime.
CoinDesk2026-03-16
Ontario Securities Commission independently confirms participation in Operation Atlantic via its own press release.
Ontario Securities Commission2026-04-01
Week-long operational phase of Operation Atlantic concludes after running from late March through early April 2026, spanning investigative activity across 30+ countries.
Phemex Blog2026-04-09
U.S. Secret Service publishes results announcement: $12 million frozen, $45 million in total fraud identified, 20,000+ wallets flagged, 3,000+ victims contacted, 120+ scam domains disrupted.
U.S. Secret Service Press Release2026-04-09
U.S. Secret Service publishes Behind the Shades feature article providing additional technical detail on the approval phishing methodology and the operation's near real-time disruption approach.
U.S. Secret Service Behind the ShadesDecision Log
- hash: CM7ZJBPN14wcxFhFVAKwzQzMB748j8xkz727hTtSTomC
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (1 event). 12 of 12 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 6/15/2026, 12:07:10 PM
last updated: 7/26/2026, 11:10:24 PM
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