The AI receipt fraud problem: how UK businesses can fight back against false expenses

The nature of work is rapidly evolving, and while Artificial Intelligence offers tremendous advantages, it has also created sophisticated new avenues for fraud. Analysis by Radius | UK Fuels has uncovered that searches for ‘AI receipts’ increased by 340% between August and October 2025, a significant development that warrants the attention of every finance and business leader.

This dramatic increase indicates that a growing number of individuals are investigating the use of AI to fabricate fraudulent receipts, presenting a major new risk to organisations across the UK and beyond when processing travel and business expense claims.

The severity of the issue

Our own findings are consistent with reports from leading industry commentators that underline the seriousness of this threat:

As a leading provider of fleet management and fuel card solutions, we at Radius | UK Fuels understand the necessity for businesses to implement robust protection measures. The advanced quality of these AI-powered scams means that relying solely on traditional manual auditing may no longer be a sustainable defence.

• A recent study by SAP Concur indicated that 70% of CFOs suspect their staff are attempting to use AI to generate and submit false travel expenses and receipts.
• Furthermore, AppZen reported that AI-generated expense documents were responsible for 14% of fraudulent documents submitted last month, up from virtually zero the previous year.

As a leading provider of fleet management and fuel card solutions, we at Radius | UK Fuels understand the necessity for businesses to implement robust protection measures. The advanced quality of these AI-powered scams means that relying solely on traditional manual auditing may no longer be a sustainable defence.

Expert insights: our strategy to tackle AI expense fraud

Jonathan Haseler, our Chief Revenue Officer, provides valuable expert commentary on strategies businesses can employ to limit the impact of these AI scams related to travel expenses and to flag unusual activity:

“As AI becomes more accessible, businesses across the country are seeing a sharp rise in the number of fraud attempts. Receipts aren’t complicated documents to replicate, especially with the help of AI. However, this means that employers may struggle to distinguish between fraudulent documentation and real ones with the naked eye.”

“While these scams can strongly mimic a real-life receipt with the logo, and even crinkled paper, there are practices that business leaders can put in place to ensure employees don’t risk submitting a scam and anomalies can be spotted more easily, saving businesses plenty of time and money in the long term.”

Key steps for businesses to counter fraudulent travel expenses:

Maintain regular employee education

Technology is advancing rapidly, and AI is becoming increasingly integrated into many professional roles. While its applications are often harmless, it is crucial that all employees are informed about the risks associated with using AI for malicious purposes. Continuous staff training is vital to ensure everyone understands the consequences and is aware of your business’s current policies regarding AI-generated expenses.

Prioritise digital processes

Moving away from easily manipulated paper receipts and towards automated, digital management tools is a foundational defensive step. Digitisation significantly reduces the potential for human error and makes it much more difficult for fraudulent claims to go undetected within your financial infrastructure.

Add robust protection for vehicle spending with fuel cards

For expenses related to vehicles, fuel cards are arguably the best defence against misuse. Our core business at Radius | UK Fuels is providing practical tools for control and transparency over your road travel expenditure. Our fuel cards (which include EV charge cards for electric vehicles) ensure that you can securely track practically all transactions related to vehicle travel.

By implementing our dedicated fuel cards, your business benefits from several critical layers of protection:

Comprehensive Audit Trail: You receive in-depth reports delivered directly to your inbox, offering a consistent audit trail that helps you pinpoint patterns suggesting fraud.

Streamlined Tracking: Cards can be specifically linked to specific vehicles or drivers, making it much simpler to monitor usage and rapidly identify deviations.

Enhanced Security: You can immediately block lost or stolen cards, and use specific labels to ensure cards are always used by the correct person or for the designated vehicle.

Pattern Analysis: Our system enables you to filter reports by date, location, or driver to spot irregular consumption or spending. You can monitor driver behaviour and fuel efficiency to reveal potential inefficiencies or inappropriate use.

Proactive Alerts: You can configure alerts for specific spending limits, which helps to flag suspicious behaviour early before it evolves into a major issue.

PIN Security: All of our cards feature PIN protection to mitigate the risk of unauthorised use if a card is misplaced.

Network Restriction: You retain the option to limit card usage to approved stations, reducing the likelihood of drivers making purchases off-network that would require questionable third-party receipts.

Strengthen control for all non-fuel expenses

The danger of AI-generated receipts extends to all transactions, not just fuel. To manage fraud across all general business spending, from accommodation and rail travel to office supplies, you should consider a comprehensive business expense card, such as our Velos card. These platforms offer significantly better control mechanisms than standard credit or debit cards:

Immediate Expense Capture: Staff can use a mobile app to instantly capture receipts and digitally link them to the specific corresponding transaction.

Preventative Limits: You have the power to enforce individual or team spending limits that actively prevent overspend and policy breaches before they occur.

Instant Digital Control: You can instantly freeze, unfreeze, or cancel any card using an intuitive online portal

Consolidated Reporting: All non-fuel expenses are gathered into detailed digital reports, eliminating slow, manual expense claim processes and simplifying the detection of unusual activity.

Define usage policies explicitly

Beyond the technical fraud protection offered by your fuel and expense cards, it is vital to guarantee that every employee is fully aware of their spending limits, who is authorised to use the card, and the acceptable times and geographical locations for use. It should be clear to all that any expenses falling outside these rigid parameters will result in an automatic decline. Unambiguous rules leave no opportunity for misunderstanding or intentional deceit.