Associated Incidents
A Los Angeles woman was scammed out of her life savings after scammers used AI videos of a *General Hospital *star to swindle her,
Abigail Ruvalcaba said she received multiple messages, including deepfake videos, purporting to be from Steve Burton, who has been on *General Hospital *since 1991.
"I thought I was in love," Ruvalcaba told KTLA. "I thought we were going to have a good life together."
KABC reported that the scammers first approached Ruvalcaba on Facebook Messenger before switching over to WhatsApp.
She told KTLA that she initially sent more than $81,000 before selling her family's condo and giving the $350,000 in proceeds to the scammer.
Ruvalcaba's daughter Vivian told the outlets that her mother has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and said the victim believed it when the fake Burton told her he needed money after his home was destroyed in a fire.
One of the messages Ruvalcaba received was reported by KABC.
"The beach house is something we will love, baby," the scammer reportedly wrote.
KTLA reported that Ruvalcaba might have to move out of her family home. Vivian told the outlet that her family is suing in an attempt to reverse the sale of the condo, which was subsequently flipped to another owner, per ABC.
"Now she's in complete debt, and now she's going to have to file for bankruptcy," Vivian told KABC.
KABC reported that it also showed Burton a video that was sent to Ruvalcaba,
"Sounds like my voice for sure, 100%," he told the outlet.
Burton, who plays Jason Morgan on *General Hospital, *had previously posted a warning on social media to his followers, alerting them to the dangers of similar scams.