Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigators have found more than $70 million in cryptocurrency linked to fraud.
It was through Project Atlas that the OPP Cyber Fraud Investigation Team (CIT) was able to make this seizure. The EEC also froze $24 million in fraud-related losses.
The operation was executed with partners around the world. Together, they identified “more than 2,000 cryptocurrency wallets that could be traced back to victims in 14 countries, including Canada, the United States, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom,” the PPO mentioned via email. press release Thursday.
“Project Atlas was a victim-focused initiative aimed at disrupting organized cryptocurrency fraud schemes and raising awareness about cryptocurrency scams. to investing in cryptocurrency,” we explain.
Crimes linked to cryptocurrency are “increasingly complex with each passing year,” notes the director of Financial Crime Investigation Services, Detective Superintendent Mike Bicker.
“The individuals behind these fraudulent activities use manipulative social media advertising, professional-looking websites, psychosocial manipulation and increasingly complex technologies to deceive their targets,” he added in a statement. quote published in the press release. I am proud of Project Atlas, a proactive, victim-focused approach led by provincial police to combat cybercrime.”
The PPO calls on the population to “educate themselves” on the different types of fraud in the cryptocurrency world.
The provincial police service also invites citizens who have been victims of fraud or who have suspicions of fraudulent activities to alert their local police service and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center at 1-888-495-8501.
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