Which of the following is a common scheme for asset misappropriation?

The choice identifying payroll fraud, such as creating fake employees, is indeed a common scheme for asset misappropriation. This type of fraud involves an employee manipulating payroll systems to create fictitious employees or inflate the hours worked by real employees. By doing so, they unlawfully divert company funds for their personal gain, leading to direct financial losses for the organization.

Payroll fraud is particularly insidious because it can occur over an extended period before detection, allowing the perpetrator to accumulate significant sums without immediate oversight. This situation underscores the importance of robust internal controls and regular audits to monitor payroll processes and ensure that all employees on the payroll system are legitimate.

Other options, while they may involve fraudulent activities, do not specifically relate to the direct misappropriation of an organization's assets in the same way payroll fraud does. For example, insurance fraud concerns false claims, and tax evasion techniques are primarily aimed at avoiding tax obligations rather than misappropriating assets from an employer. Over-reporting sales projections might involve financial manipulation or misleading portrayals of a company's performance, but it does not entail the direct theft of funds or assets like payroll fraud does.