CFE-FINANCIAL-TRANSACTIONS-FRAUD-SCHEMES practice question 2 of 25

The most basic skimming scheme occurs when:

Answer options

A: An employee sells goods or services to a customer, collects the customer’s payment, but makes no record of the sale. Correct answer

B: An employee buy goods or services from a customer, drop the customer’s payment, but makes no record of the purchase.

C: An employee sells goods or services to a stakeholder, collects the stakeholder’s payment and makes record of the sale too.

D: An employee buy goods or services from a stakeholder, drop the stakeholder’s payment and makes record of the purchase too.

Correct Answer:

A. An employee sells goods or services to a customer, collects the customer’s payment, but makes no record of the sale.

Explanation

Skimming is the theft of cash “off-the-books”—before the receipt is recorded in the accounting system. The simplest, most frequently cited form is sales skimming: an employee makes a legitimate sale or provides a service, accepts the customer’s cash, and deliberately fails to prepare a sales ticket or otherwise record the transaction, pocketing the money. Because nothing is entered, the missing cash is difficult to detect, making this the prototypical, “most basic” skimming scheme.

Why Incorrect

B. Describes an unrecorded purchase; skimming concerns unrecorded sales, not buying activity.
C. Recording the sale puts cash in the books; any theft would require later manipulation (e.g., lapping), not skimming.
D. Records the purchase and involves outgoing, not incoming, funds; does not fit skimming definition.

References

1. ACFE Fraud Examiner’s Manual

2023 ed.

Financial Transactions & Fraud Schemes

“Cash Receipts—Skimming

” pp. 1.205-1.206: defines sales skimming as unrecorded sales with cash pocketed.

2. Wells

J. T. Principles of Fraud Examination

5th ed.

Wiley

2019

Chapter 3 “Cash Receipts Schemes

” pp. 101-102

DOI:10.1002/9781119691406: discusses basic sales-skimming scenario.

3. University of Texas at Austin

ACC 383 Fraud Examination course notes

Lecture 7 “Skimming

” slide 16: identifies “employee takes customer payment and never records sale” as the classic skimming method.

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