Operation Atlantic launched
U.S., U.K. and Canadian authorities launched a coordinated crackdown—Operation Atlantic—targeting crypto investment scams and wallet approval‑phishing. The cross‑border effort aims to ID victims and perpetrators, signaling stepped‑up enforcement pressure on DeFi tooling and wallet UX around permission requests.
Operation Atlantic is co‑hosted by the U.S. Secret Service press release), the UK’s National Crime Agency NCA), the Ontario Provincial Police OPP) and the Ontario Securities Commission OSC). Public statements about the initiative were issued the week of March 16, 2026, with the U.S. Secret Service publishing an official release on March 16, 2026.(secretservice.gov) The operation explicitly builds on Project Atlas, the 2024 Canadian‑hosted disruption run by the OPP that was attended by U.S. partners, according to law‑enforcement briefings.(secretservice.gov) Blockchain‑security tracker Scam Sniffer reported $83.85 million in signature‑phishing losses across 106,106 victims in 2025, data cited by multiple outlets discussing the new operation.(drops.scamsniffer.io) Scam Sniffer also flagged a January 2026 rebound, recording about $6.27 million stolen across roughly 4,700 drained wallets that month, a near‑term surge law enforcement referenced when describing the current threat landscape.(decrypt.co) Authorities said they are working with private industry partners and Virtual Asset Service Providers to reach potential victims by telephone and email and to attempt near‑real‑time disruption of active fraud flows, per joint agency notices.(secretservice.gov) The UK NCA published specific mitigation steps—naming tools such as Revoke.cash and Etherscan for reviewing and revoking wallet approvals and advising multi‑factor authentication—measures being folded into the operation’s victim‑assistance guidance.(nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk)
