TL;DR:
- Payward participated in Operation Atlantic, an international enforcement effort that tracked more than $45 million in funds of illicit origin.
- The operation, led by the UK’s NCA, managed to freeze more than $12 million and identified over 20,000 potential victims.
- The “approval phishing” scheme tricks users into granting access to their wallets without their knowledge, enabling the theft of funds.
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, participated as an operational partner in Operation Atlantic, an international law enforcement initiative aimed at dismantling crypto fraud networks and approval phishing scams. The operation was led by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and co-directed alongside the United States Secret Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Ontario Securities Commission.
As a result, more than $45 million in funds of alleged criminal origin were identified, more than $12 million were frozen, and over 20,000 potential victims were detected across multiple jurisdictions.
Payward’s Role in the Operation
Payward played an active role within the operation. Its teams identified potentially affected customers and took steps to notify and protect them. They responded to data requests from authorities to support ongoing investigations. In addition, they deployed staff to the NCA’s headquarters in London, working directly alongside investigators and other industry partners throughout the course of the operation.
Payward was one of several private sector partners involved in Atlantic, alongside other exchanges and financial institutions. According to the company, these collaborations are essential to responding to the scale and speed of modern financial crime.
Approval phishing is a form of fraud in which victims are tricked into granting wallet access to malicious actors, frequently through fraudulent websites or applications. Once funds are transferred to wallets controlled by the scammers, recovery is difficult and, in many cases, impossible.
The Industry Can Do More than Comply
Payward’s participation in operations like Atlantic puts forward a collaboration model that goes beyond regulatory requirements. Exchanges can do more than report suspicious activity: they can integrate into real-time investigative work, combining proprietary data, technical capability, and cross-border coordination to reduce the damage of attacks before it spreads.
The company noted that this kind of collaboration demonstrates the position of trust it holds with authorities around the world, and reaffirmed its commitment to the integrity of the crypto ecosystem and the protection of its customers.
