I wouldn't say "fraud". I think it's similar to the legal reasoning that says it's still a crime to open and enter a locked door even if the key is "hidden" on top of the door.
Hackers tend to overemphasize the technical aspects of an issue, whereas courts mostly care about the human aspects.
It's a misrepresentation because the law requires the protection to be effective. If I mail you a locked box alongside the key, the lock cannot be reasonably described as "effective" in terms of controlling your access.
Effective in the DMCA sense means "intended to have the effect of..." it does not mean the mechanisms have to be foolproof.
This is also why the DMCA is a bad law, because it harms legitimate use while doing almost nothing to actual cases of piracy.