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California stupid stupid woman loses home after being scammed by AI deepfake posing as actor

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A Southern California woman has lost her home after an elaborate romance 
scam that used artificial intelligence to swindle her out of her life 
savings.

Abigail Ruvalcaba, 66, believed she had fallen in love with General 
Hospital actor Steve Burton.

Over a year ago, she met who she believed to be Burton on Facebook. 
After communicating online and through video messages, she eventually 
believed their relationship to be real.

“I thought I was in love,” Abigail told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. “I 
thought we were going to have a good life together.”

Little did she know, the videos being sent to her were deepfake videos 
created by a scammer who used AI to steal Burton’s voice and likeness. 
The hyperrealistic video made it appear that the actor was indeed 
speaking with her.

“To me, it looks real, even now,” she said. “I don’t know anything about 
AI.”

Before long, the scammer began asking Ruvalcaba to send over money that 
they would eventually pay back. Her family said she fell victim to the 
emotional manipulation and sent the scammer over $81,000 in cash.

“And then checks and Zelle and Bitcoin, it was everything,” she said.

The scam continued and after giving away her life savings, Abigail 
agreed to sell her family’s condo for $350,000 and send the proceeds to 
the scammer.

https://ktla.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2025/08/Copy-of-mug-or-photo-bkg-4-10.png

DUMB FAT DEMOCRAT PIG!

“It happened so quickly, within less than three weeks,” said Vivian 
Ruvalcaba, the victim’s daughter. “The sale of the home was done. It was 
over with.”

Vivian said that because of her mother’s mental health, she was battling 
severe bipolar disorder, she became an easy target for scammers.

“She argued with me, saying, ‘No, how are you telling me this is AI if 
it sounds like him? That’s his face, that’s his voice, I watch him on 
television all the time,’” Vivian said when she confronted her mother 
over the scam.

In a GoFundMe page to help Abigail, her daughter, Vivian Ruvalcaba, said 
there was only $45,000 left on the mortgage, but in her haste to send 
the scammer more money, Abigail sold her condo far below market value to 
a real estate company.

The new owner reportedly flipped the home and sold it to yet another owner.

“When I discovered the scam in February 2025, I immediately contacted 
everyone involved, provided my Power of Attorney, and submitted three 
medical letters from her doctors confirming my mother lacked the 
capacity to make these decisions,” Vivian wrote on GoFundMe.

She claims the new owner offered to sell the condo back to them for 
$100,000 more than what they paid, money that the family doesn’t have.

Reports of the deepfake scams using Burton’s likeness also prompted the 
actor to issue a warning to his followers on social media.

For Abigail and her family, the warning came too late and they may be 
forced to move out of their home. Her daughter said the family plans to 
sue the companies that purchased the condo and are hoping their attorney 
can somehow stop her mother from being evicted on Sept. 3.

Abigail said she is devastated over the ordeal and wishes she knew what 
was happening before falling for the scheme. She hopes that by sharing 
her story, it’ll prevent others from making the same mistake.

“I feel stupid, taken,” she said. “Why is somebody asking me for money? 
I feel like a dummy. I was in a fantasy world, obviously.”

A GoFundMe page to help Abigail with legal expenses can be found here.

FBI officials offer these tips to protect yourself from a deepfake 
romance scam:

Never send money to anyone you have only communicated with online or by 
phone
Beware if the person seems too perfect or quickly asks you to leave a 
dating service or social media site to communicate directly
Be on alert if they attempt to isolate you from friends and family or 
request inappropriate photos or financial information that could later 
be used to extort you
Beware if they promise to meet in person but come up with an excuse why 
he or she can’t. If you haven’t met them after a few months, for 
whatever reason, you have good reason to be suspicious

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/woman-loses-home-scammed-by-ai-deepfake-scammer-pretending-to-be-general-hospital-actor/

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California stupid stupid woman loses home after being scammed by AI deepfake posing as actor Retarded California <seriously-retarded@ca.gov> - 2025-08-29 14:04 -0700
  Re: California stupid stupid woman loses home after being scammed by AI deepfake posing as actor Klaus  Schadenfreude <klaus.schadenfreude.Zwergent�ter.@gmail.com> - 2025-08-29 15:02 -0700

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