While everyone else was using ChatGPT to create Studio Ghibli-style images last week, accountants took a different route. We're not making beautiful Japanese anime. We're making fake receipts!
A guy on Twitter demonstrated how you can use GPT-4o to create fake receipts that look completely real. His conclusion: "There are too many real-world verification flows that rely on 'real images' as proof. That era is over."
The image he shared was shockingly realistic:
A crinkled receipt sitting on a wooden steakhouse table
Two filet mignons, a ribeye, Caesar salad, and sides
Complete with accurate subtotal, tax, tip, and total
Here's why this matters:
AI image generation has consistently failed at two specific things - text and math. The text was jumbled, and the calculations never added up. You couldn't use it for fake documents.
But now that limitation is gone. The text is clear—the math works most of the time. The receipts look real – mostly. And soon, they'll be even better.
This creates a whole new category of potential fraud. Every verification system that relies on image-based proof just became obsolete.
Want to hear our complete discussion? Watch episode 430 of The Accounting Podcast.
