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In addition, fraudulent promoters fill imitation security offerings with "investment opportunities" that mimic the legitimate investments in the headlines. For example, during the telecommunications boom in the mid-1980s, news stories reported that telecommunications businesses were reaping tremendous wealth. Scam artists created investment schemes that imitated legitimate entrepreneurs, and told consumers that their investment offerings were acquiring Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses or capitalizing telecommunications systems, such as cellular phone, wireless cable systems, Specialized Mobile Radio, and Interactive Video Data Service companies.(13) Fraudulent promoters falsely touted these ventures as high-profit, low-risk investments, even though they were high-risk, long-term, and capital-intensive.
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