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A fan of the popular soap opera “General Hospital” has lost her home after a scammer used AI-generated videos of actor Steve Burton to fool the woman.
The 66-year-old Burton fan, Abigail Ruvalcaba, was tricked via Facebook into believing that she was in a relationship with the “General Hospital” star and now she has lost her life savings and her family home.
Ruvalcaba told news outlet KTLA 5, “I thought I was in love. I thought we were going to have a good life together.”
“To me, it looks real, even now,” she added. “I don’t know anything about AI.”
In one video, Burton says, “Hello, Abigail. I love you so much, darling. I had to make this video to make you happy, my love.”
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The fake videos copied the actor’s likeness and voice, which the scammer used to steal more than $81,000 in cash from Ruvalcaba through checks, bitcoin, and Zelle.
The smitten soap opera fan even sold her family’s condo for $350,000 to send the scammer the money after believing Burton had lost his home in the Los Angeles fires.
The woman’s daughter, Vivian, told ABC 7 that her mother suffered from bipolar 1 disorder, and she is “sickened” that the scammer went so far. This all took place in a matter of weeks.
The scammer also targeted Ruvalcaba on WhatsApp, writing, “I want to live the rest of my life with you. Steve Burton and Abigail Burton sounds like a dream come true.”
Thankfully, Ruvalcaba’s daughter learned about the scam before her mother could send the money from the condo sale.
“Had I not intervened when I did, she was scheduled to send the scammer $70,000 out of that money that was sitting there,” she said. “She’s ashamed. I know she is, and to put that stress on me, on herself, on my dad, the entire family, I know it weighs heavy on her.”
Fans online were shocked and in awe at how the Steve Burton fan was bamboozled, inquiring more information about the woman’s story.
“Wait, the victim was married and thought she was in a relationship with him???. The daughter mentions the strain on her dad from this,” said one person.
Another wrote, “It’s unfortunate that this happened. As a Steve Burton fan, I constantly get fake Steve Burton account requests on IG. Every time I comment on his post, another request gets sent. They are lurking around waiting to scam people.”
Many also took a closer look at the videos, claiming, “It doesn’t look like Steve. People need to investigate everything.”
Burton told ABC 7 that many fans of the soap opera have lost money to scammers.
“I see people come to my appearances and look at me like they’ve had a relationship online for a couple years,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘No, I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are,’ and you just see. It’s so sad, you see the devastation.
“That I know of who have lost money, it’s in the hundreds. It’s in the hundreds,” the actor continued.
He shared a post on Instagram to advise his “General Hospital” fans to watch out for scams and let them know that he did not need any of their money.
“First of all, I don’t need your money,” he said. “I would never ask for money.”
A GoFundMe page was launched to help Ruvalcaba cover legal fees has now raised just $1,500, falling well short of its $18,000 goal.
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