Last week, I shared with my peers and colleagues that I tried to fake a receipt. Not to slip one past my own finance team, but out of sheer curiosity.
Reports of AI-generated receipts on the rise made me wonder: How easy could it really be to fake a receipt?
The answer: It’s scarily easy.
The purpose of my quest was not to produce the most perfect fake receipt, but rather to see how quick and easy it would be to get something which – if you were in a rush – could slip through the net and pass as real.
In just a few minutes, I had a branded, itemised, tax-formatted receipt that looked convincing. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to get me thinking about the implications for how businesses manage T&E today.
When I shared my experiment on LinkedIn, the responses poured in. Many were insightful, but a few carried misconceptions worth addressing. So, if you’ve ever wondered whether AI fake receipts are really a problem, this blog is for you.
Misconception 1: Receipt fraud is new.
It isn’t. People have been forging receipts for decades. But it’s never been this easy.
Take Photoshop, for example. Photoshop is expensive (and, therefore, less accessible) and creating something realistic with it takes an investment in both skill and time.
Take it from me: As an amateur photographer (and someone who’s used the tool since the mid 90s), I know well that Photoshop has infinite capabilities. But it has never been as intuitive or quick to use as ChatGPT.
Not only is there no barrier of entry, but there’s also the speed and the scale of what AI enables. It takes minutes, not hours to produce a hyper realistic image with the right tax codes, addresses, and menu items.
If you’re thinking I could easily outsmart the tech by spotting wrinkles, shadows, or prices that don’t match inflation, you’re right. You could. But you’re unlikely to be able to do the same when hundreds of receipts are flowing in monthly.
Misconception 2: Finance teams should catch the fakes.
Finance teams are sharp. They know when a VAT number is invalid, when a font looks off, or when a tax rate doesn’t match.
But finding a fake receipt is like searching for a needle in a thousand-line ledger. Imagine your own finance team having to comb through that mess.
At Soldo, we see the reality of how modern finance teams work today. They’re leaner than ever – and they’re responsible for more than just cutting costs. They’re looking for ways to help their businesses grow through instability.
Micromanaging receipt capture is the lowest of their priorities.
Fraud prevention is about removing the risk at source, not expecting overstretched people with higher-value work on their plate to play detective. If you’re relying on humans to catch every fake, you’re already a step behind.
Misconception 3: Per-diems and reimbursement processes will offer you control.
Per-diems set limits, sure. But what do you do when employees need to go beyond government guidelines to fulfil your business’s needs?
Most employers resort to asking employees to dip into their own personal funds. But, we’ve found, that reimbursements can cause lingering resentment.
In our 2023 Ipsos survey of 400 employees across industries, we investigated this. We wanted to know how out-of-pocket expenses were affecting employees and their financial and mental wellbeing.
We found out that 67% of employees pay out-of-pocket for work expenses at least weekly. When they do fill out the lengthy forms, attach the (legitimate) receipts, and provide the right paperwork, 57% don’t reclaim all of it.
Employees despise reimbursements – so do finance teams because it pits them against the rest of the business, positioning them as an obstacle of innovation instead of partners of it.
Misconception 4: Any kind of company card is better than reimbursement.
If you’ve ever been strong-armed into taking a company card for which you have personal legal liability, you will know what I mean. I speak from experience here.
Twice in my career, I was forced to do so. That kind of responsibility doesn’t belong with employees. Delayed payments, interest charges, and credit risk all create unnecessary stress — and it’s unfair.
Personally, I remember feeling aggrieved when my employer delayed payment to the credit card company, and I was left with a hefty bill for interest charges. It got resolved in the end, but that was stress and hassle I didn’t need.
The fairest company cards give finance teams the tools to control and guide spending before it happens while freeing employees from unnecessary stress. With the right spend management systems and the right kind of card, accountability stays where it belongs — with the business, not on the shoulders of the people doing their jobs.
Misconception 5: AI can solve it.
It’s tempting to fight AI with more AI. Some have suggested using AI to spot subtle anomalies or detect as new fraud tactics emerge.
In fact, global banks have already started using AI to detect money laundering schemes, flag synthetic identities or unauthorised account takeovers, and respond quickly to emerging risks.
But, for businesses with lean finance teams and limited resources, the best defence isn’t spotting fake receipts — it’s making it impossible to submit them in the first place.
The most resilient spend management system is one that makes digital traceability the default. When each payment’s transaction data is verifiably tied to a receipt, it’s game changing.
Combating AI receipt fraud isn’t about spotting the fakes.
Fake receipts generated with AI is simply a symptom of a bigger truth: The processes that once worked are no longer fit for purpose.
The answer isn’t to anticipate what comes next but to build a system around the proactive application of company policy – not reactive checking. That way, you’re not wasting time worrying about what slipped through.
It’s the reason why I am so proud of what we do at Soldo. What we have to offer businesses today is the missing layer of accountability that traditional cards and reimbursements were never designed to give you.
Whether you choose Soldo to protect your business or not, you can take steps today to protect your business. Consider:
- Using company cards instead of reimbursements
- Setting built-in rules on your spend management platform to flag or block unusual transactions
- Making digital audit trails linking receipts to payments your default
- Staying vigilant around emerging fraud tactics
These steps should help you catch unapproved spending in any form.
A final word of advice: Don’t just safeguard against today’s trend of AI receipt fraud. Establish a system for managing company spend that can weather whatever comes next.
Want to see how Soldo helps businesses rethink spend management?
