Beware of AI-Generated Bank Transaction Scams
MANILA, Philippines — A netizen recently exposed how she was scammed by a friend who used artificial intelligence tools, specifically ChatGPT, to create fake bank transaction screenshots. She urged the public to stay vigilant when handling online payments, sharing her cautionary tale in a viral Facebook post.
The victim’s story began when a batchmate who owed her money sent several screenshots showing bank payments, apparently settling the debt. Because she trusted the sender, she did not immediately verify the transactions.
“After ko mag-out of the country and inaudit ko, walang pumasok. One failed transaction is pwede pa pero 5 transactions? No!” she said. (After I went abroad and checked, no money came through. One failed transaction is possible, but five transactions? No!)
She admitted her mistake was not checking the payments right away. “Dapat chineck ko mabuti. Nasa galaan kasi ako niyan, pawala wala pa signal saka kakilala ko ung nagsend so tiwala pa ako.” (I should have checked carefully. I was out and about with poor signal, and since I knew the sender, I trusted them.)
How AI Tools Were Used to Commit Fraud
The shock came when she discovered that no actual payments were made. The screenshots had been fabricated using ChatGPT, a powerful AI language model. “Come on! I found out that AI, ChatGPT, can be used for fraud and bad faith!” she lamented.
She also revealed that the same person had scammed other classmates with similar AI-generated bank transaction images. To demonstrate how easy it was to create fake proofs of payment, she shared a screenshot where she asked ChatGPT to “create a copy of the picture like this with a 25,000 PHP transaction.” The AI instantly produced the fake image.
“Mag-ingat kayo, always check if pumasok ba sa account niyo yung transaction,” she advised. (Be careful, always verify if the transaction has actually posted in your account.)
Public Response and Lessons Learned
Her post has gained massive attention, receiving over 37,000 reactions and 50,000 comments. Many users echoed her warning about the growing sophistication of scams using AI technology.
Experts and local leaders noted that this incident highlights the urgent need for stronger online transaction awareness and verification practices. As AI tools become more accessible, scammers can easily manipulate images and documents to deceive people.
Always confirm bank transactions through official channels rather than relying on screenshots or messages alone. Stay alert, especially when dealing with people you trust, as fraud can come from unexpected sources.
For more news and updates on AI scams and online security, visit Filipinokami.com.