Last updated on November 24th, 2025 at 10:52 am
By Brian Veloso, Managing Director at SAP Concur Canada
As technology continues to reshape the modern workplace, AI is transforming how employees handle daily work responsibilities, providing tools that streamline tasks and enhance productivity. The seventh annual SAP Concur Global Business Travel Surveyreveals that 88 per cent of business travellers globally feel comfortable using AI-powered automation for aspects of business travel, such as booking or managing expenses.
But for every helpful application of AI, there are potential malicious use cases that bad-faith actors can exploit. For example, users can log in to free apps like Google Gemini or ChatGPT and create realistic-looking, fraudulent documents – such as fake receipts or invoices – in seconds.
As a result, businesses may be at risk of employees using AI to falsify travel expenses. According to the survey’s findings, 67 per cent of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), 78 per cent of travel managers, and 55 per cent of business travellers say this is likely in their organisation. One in 10 says they know it’s already happening. This concern is especially relevant in Canada, where fraud cases have almost doubled over the last decade, and half (50 per cent) of Canadian small business owners reported experiencing attempted or successful fraud in the past 12 months, according to data by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and Interac Corp. (Interac).
Let’s unpack the risks and mitigation strategies businesses can use to squash the rise of such falsified receipts.
The risk of AI-generated receipts
The vast majority of incorrectly filed expense reports are the result of employee error, rather than intentional fraud. According to SAP Concur data, 15-20 per cent of expense reports contain non-compliant spend, stemming from mistakes like duplicate transactions, non-itemised receipts, or out-of-policy spending.
However, some cases get flagged by automated auditing tools like Verify, an AI-powered audit tool from SAP Concur, under suspicion of being generated or manipulated by AI.
Fake AI receipts are challenging for humans and older travel and expense (T&E) fraud detection systems to identify. Traditional methods rely on manual, post-submission reviews rather than real-time monitoring, and a lack of integrated third-party data makes it difficult to automatically verify expenses with external sources.
Documentation of audit and fraud detection efforts can also be inconsistent, creating a weak trail that’s hard to analyse for trends. And most employees aren’t properly trained in how to identify AI-engineered fraud.
These factors lower the barrier to entry for employees seeking payouts for fabricated spending. Businesses end up footing the bill for travel, meals, and accommodation that were never purchased.
Steps to tackle AI-powered receipt fraud
Organisations must adapt their strategies to keep pace with technology – and virtually every industry is implementing methods to combat AI-powered fraud.
Universities are using AI detection software and reintroducing in-person exams. Banks and financial institutions are turning to biometrics and deepfake education.
Any company engaging in business travel should take a proactive and holistic approach to combat receipt falsification. Here are four practical steps:
- Build prevention into policy
Well-defined policies can help prevent AI receipt fraud. Add a layer of control by implementing pre-spending requests that require employees to seek approval for significant purchases. Comprehensive pre-spend audits can help review expense requests and flag potential issues.
To deter fraudsters, introduce guidelines detailing how the company will take action against fraud and pursue the recovery of embezzled expenses.
- Educate teams on the telltale signs
On first inspection, AI receipts can be highly convincing – but often contain errors that reveal their inauthenticity. Make approvers aware of the signs to look for, including:
- Font or spelling irregularities
- Incorrect arithmetic or tax calculations
- Unnatural appearances, e.g. looks overly “glossy” or computer-generated
Some AI tools also attach digital watermarks to content, so you can check the metadata of a file to identify whether it was AI-generated. However, savvy grifters will know to remove these details by editing the data or printing their images. It’s important to deploy a mix of techniques and a healthy dose of scepticism.
- Practise post-spending due diligence
Digital systems can help monitor transactions and flag unusual activity after spending. Consider connecting your organisation’s expense systems directly to corporate cards, e-receipts, and travel booking platforms to automatically cross-verify expenses.
You can also use analytics platforms to search for unusual patterns, duplicate claims, or suspicious trends. Regularly review company spending data to identify high-volume or high-value spenders that may warrant further inspection.
- Build on AI to detect fraud
AI-supported checking systems can be used to catch fraudsters red-handed, through methods such as address verification, generated image detection, tax calculation checks, and itemisation validation to identify fake receipts. More than half (55 per cent) of CFOs expect AI to catch more general errors and potential fraud than their teams if it’s used to automate expense approvals.
As T&E fraud evolves, organisations have an opportunity to modernise their defences and get ahead of the AI curve. By adopting a proactive approach that combines policy, education, and advanced technology, leaders will protect their businesses.
