E-Paper
AI-generated pic of cheque for ₹69,000 sparks fraud concerns: 'We are so cooked'
The image surfaced online shortly after OpenAI rolled out updated generation capabilities designed to create sharper and more usable visuals.
AI tools are rapidly becoming more powerful, capable of generating highly realistic text, images and videos. However, their growing sophistication is also raising concerns about misuse. The latest example comes from X, where a hyper-realistic image of a bank cheque generated using artificial intelligence (AI) has gone viral and sparked alarm among users.
The post, shared by user Shirish (@shiri_shh), showed what appeared to be an official cheque from UCO Bank made out for ₹69,000 in his own name. “This was made with ChatGPT Image 2.0. We are so cooked,” he wrote, alongside the image.
The cheque looked strikingly authentic at first glance. It featured details typically found on a real cheque, including an account number, branch details, signature area, and even a MICR band at the bottom.
Take a look below:
Notably, the image surfaced online shortly after OpenAI rolled out updated generation capabilities designed to create sharper and more usable visuals.
Social media reactions
The post triggered a flurry of reactions, with some users warning about the risks of AI being used to create forged financial documents. However, some also said that there is no need to panic, pointing out that real cheque paper and hidden security marks cannot be easily copied.
Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “Don't panic! Regardless of the date, you cannot encash this cheque. It is not a CTS compliant cheque and won't be accepted. For CTS complaince you need a "VOID" mark in an ink that only shows up under UV light. ChatGPT cannot produce that.”
“Why would you even try that. These models becoming more and more paranoid and censored because some people can’t keep it in their pants,” commented another.
“AI can generate a perfect cheque… meanwhile my bank still rejects my own signature like nice try criminal,” expressed a third user.
“You could already do that in photoshop 10 years ago, the difficulty of writing false info on official looking documents is not what is keeping people from doing it,” wrote another.
“The issue is taking this stuff to the bank, not creating it ;) it never was that hard to fake documents ;) issue is using them later and not get caught haha,” commented one user.
“Still the paper used in cheque book cant be copied,” remarked another.
“This is exactly why I'm too skeptical about GPT-Image-V2. Its too easy to build forged documents, deepfakes and other official records like passports, visa etc. Imagine the situation if and when Opensource is able to build something like this. We as humans are cooked,” one user said.
