Skimming is a type of fraud where cash is taken prior to being entered into the books. Typically skimming fraud is a relatively small amount of cash, because of this, it is nearly impossible to detect for this reason. Small businesses that typically deal with cash are more prone to skimming fraud because of the constant movement of cash.
In the given example, a sandwich shop similar to “Ike’s” is constantly receiving cash. However an employee pockets this cash when the customer pays with exact change since there is no need to open the cash register and record the sale. This kind of fraud is nearly undetectable because it seldom sets off any big red flags. However; there are some safe guards for preventing this kind of small scale skimming fraud.
In the case of the sandwich shop, there are a few small changes that can be implemented in order to make skimming more difficult. By making prices uneven dollar amounts it will almost always result in the customer receiving change and therefore the transaction to be noted. However the easiest way to prevent this is to always provide a receipt since the transaction is put in the system. If a company believes there is some sort of skimming going on, they oftentimes hire a certified fraud examiner (CFE) to look for any wrongdoings.
Wilkinson, Jim. “Skimming Fraud • The Strategic CFO.” ICal. N.p., 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.