A Southern California woman has lost her home after an elaborate online romance scam that used artificial intelligence to swindle her out of thousands of dollars.
Abigail Ruvalcaba, 66, believed she had fallen in love with General Hospital actor Steve Burton.
Over a year ago, she had met the 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 with this person,” 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.
“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 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
More information about romance scams and how to protect yourself can be found here.
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