A working product can still be a financial scam. An even better scam since there's a real bait to draw in the fish.
Company generates cash flow by selling shares, management compensates themselves very well by selling shares, company loses money every Quarter, finally Company goes bankrupt never having generated $0.01 in positive income or adding net assets to the balance sheet.
Shareholders are out of pocket, and the stock spiked not because of real profits, but through penny stock promoters drawing in unwitting investors through larger or smaller promotions.