How to combat AI-generated fake receipts
The latest version of ChatGPT can now generate images with legible, realistic-looking text. Almost immediately, people started using it to create fake receipts.
It’s not perfect. The AI model is still correcting minor flaws that will make the images even more realistic. And newer versions may not make the same mistakes.
That’s a problem for the readers of this blog. Because if your current spend management process is based on manually checking receipts or good faith alone, you’re vulnerable.
With AI making it harder to tell what’s fake and what’s real, there hasn’t been a better time to tighten your process.
The truth is: Fake receipts are a symptom of ineffective spend management.
Fake receipts are just the latest tactic people use to exploit company money and slip past finance teams.
Before it, finance teams regularly caught (and sometimes missed) other common fraud attempts. Receipts submitted for more than the actual cost of the purchase, company accounts used to make personal purchases, and doctored reports that cover up unauthorised spending are some examples.
So, how do you know if your spend management process is ineffective? Look for these signs:
- Are you using a mixture of payment processes across your business? If some teams using a company card, others paying out-of-pocket and requesting reimbursements, you’re probably dealing with fragmented spend – a headache when it comes to tracking and reconciling costs.
- Does your whole team know what counts as a legitimate business expense? If policies aren’t clear, it could lead to inconsistent spending, misunderstandings, and awkward conversations after the fact.
- Can your finance team stop an out-of-policy expense on time without blocking expenses that are expenses that are perfectly valid? If they’re only reviewing expenses weeks after they happen, it may be too late to fix.
- Do you know who’s spending on what, where, or why? If the answer is no, your visibility is limited and so is your ability to make informed decisions or stay in control of company funds.
The bottom line is that fraud and errors are more likely to go unnoticed in a condition where different teams follow different processes, where policies aren’t enforced, and where finance lacks end-to-end real-time visibility.
Strengthening your spend management process
Setting strong spend management processes is your best course of action. It means you’re never just reacting to fraud. You’re making it harder to commit fraud at all.
It’s about locking in control at every stage of the spend lifecycle. Stopping fraud before it starts, staying alert as spend happens, and spotting patterns that help you tighten things up over time.
To start fraud-proofing your spend management process, consider:
- Relying on more than just receipts: Match receipts with card information – date, time, merchant name, and total – to see whether a transaction was legitimate. Use automated processes to streamline reporting and reconciliation, reducing human error and the time it takes to spot discrepancies.
- Using prepaid cards with smart controls: AI can’t fake card transactions (yet). See how company money is being spent, where, and by whom while it happens.
- Get real-time visibility: Choose a management platform that instantly notifies you when a transaction is made so you can spot suspicious activity faster. Block cards immediately if you need to.
- Educate your finance team: Keep accountants and budget holders aware of the latest fraud attempts to help them spot suspicious claims before they’re approved.
If you’re ready to move beyond those important first steps, there’s a more radical solution.
End reimbursements altogether
One of the simplest ways to reduce your exposure to fake receipts is to eliminate reimbursements altogether. If employees don’t have to spend their own money, there’s no need for them to submit receipts after the fact. It also means there are far fewer opportunities for fraud to slip through.
Ending reimbursements is exactly what global tissue paper manufacturer Sofidel set out to do. With 7,000 employees across 17 countries, manual expense claims were slow, inconsistent, and hard to control.
By switching to prepaid cards and giving teams access to funds through Soldo, Sofidel phased out reimbursements, increased visibility, and gave its finance team more time to focus on planning and strategy, not just reviewing receipts.
Sofidel’s experience proves that removing friction from the process doesn’t mean losing control. It means gaining visibility, freeing up finance teams, and closing the door on fraudulent claims before they even begin.
