Economic Impact of Cyber Attacks: Lesson from a Real-World Fraudulent Investment App Causing Financial Losses

Abstract This paper investigates a real-world cyber fraud involving a fake investment mobile application that deceived users into depositing varying amounts of money with promises of high returns. The app operated by fraudulent entities used a fake investment platform to trick users into investing their money which the criminals then stole without delivering any actual returns. The financial loss suffered by victims in this incident amounts to approximately ₹5 lakhs. This study examines how fraudulent investment applications operate their economic effects and it presents essential prevention methods which include better user monitoring together with government regulations and cybersecurity systems that protect potential victims from similar scams.