Actually, you may have the shares in your account, buy they are only "paper" shares, or as the article calls them "counterfeit". The main impact of the counterfeit shares it that it undermines the value of ALL the shares of that company.
So, when you try to sell or make a profit on your investment, the value has already been "stolen" by brokers who have oversold the company's total shares.
When it comes time for blame to be assessed, it becomes a circular accusation game with each party in the process pointing the finger at the next guy.
Ultimately, it's the investor and owners of the company that get screwed out of their hard earned investment.
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