In a fraudulent activity context, which of the following defines a successful skimming scheme?

A successful skimming scheme is defined by the act of removing cash before it gets recorded in the books. This type of fraud involves taking cash from sales or income and not reporting it in the financial records. The essence of skimming is that the perpetrator effectively "skims" funds off the top of the receipts, ensuring that the cash disappears from the company's books and is therefore not accounted for, making it difficult to detect.

In this context, recording every sale accurately would contravene the principles of skimming since it relies on underreporting or misappropriating income to hide the theft. Concealing cash through fake refunds is a different type of fraudulent activity which often involves manipulating the return process rather than directly removing cash from sales. Making loans without documentation does not relate to the skimming method, as it pertains to unauthorized lending practices, rather than the misappropriation of cash directly from transactions.