This is heartbreaking — and a terrifying reminder of how convincing AI is getting, especially to the unwary…
A Southern California woman was left in tears during a recent KABC interview when she revealed her 66-year-old mom had lost over $81,000 bucks to a scammer. A sad story already, but it gets even sadder when she gives all the details… Her poor mom actually thought she was in contact with hunky General Hospital star Steve Burton.
During the interview, which premiered Wednesday, Vivian Ruvalcaba (pictured above) said her mother Abigail was under the impression she was in a relationship with the soap opera star. Per the outlet, Abigail received deepfake AI videos of the actor saying things like he loved her and appreciated her — which looked alarmingly real. Real enough to fool the poor woman — who sadly wasn’t aware of this kind of internet trickery.
Reports state Abigail sent the fake Steve over $81k in Bitcoin, gift cards, and cash after he claimed he’d lost all his belongings and property in the devastating LA wildfires. Her daughter Vivian said of the whole situation:
“I’m sickened by it because it went this far. Why didn’t I know this? Why didn’t I see what was happening? What did I miss?”
She went on to say her mother has Bipolar disorder and was in a manic episode when all this happened:
“In her head, there was no scammer, she was talking to Steve Burton the entire time.”
So sad.
Related: Woman Allegedly Stole HOW MUCH From Elderly In Online Romance Scam?!
And the money isn’t all that Abigail lost. Eventually, her family told police about the situation after she sold her condo for $350,000 — money she intended to send to the scammer:
“Had I not intervened when I did, she was scheduled to send the scammer $70,000 of that money.”
As for how her mom feels about everything now that she knows the truth? Vivian said:
“She’s ashamed. I know she is. To put that stress on me, on herself, on my dad, the entire family, I know it weighs heavy on her … Now she’s in complete debt, and now she’s going to have to file for bankruptcy.”
So horrible. And these videos are CREEPY, y’all! In one of the clips shared by the news station, a very convincing — but fake — Steve Burton says:
“Hello, Abigail, I love you so much, darling. I had to make this video to make you happy, my love. I hope this puts a smile on your heart. Nothing will ever make me hurt you or lie to you, my queen.”
See for yourself (below):
Ick!
In a separate interview with KTLA, Abigail herself spoke out about the experience. She said:
“I thought I was in love. I thought we were going to have a good life together … To me, it looks real, even now. I don’t know anything about AI.”
Her daughter also told the outlet it was hard to convince her mom this wasn’t real:
“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.”
There’s no chance of the family getting the home back, either, per reports. The $350,000 Abigail sold it for was said to be WAY below market value — the buyer already flipped it and sold it to someone else.
KABC was able to get ahold of Steve and show him the video, and as you can imagine, he was incredibly disturbed. In a message to all his fans, he said:
“First of all, I don’t need your money. I would never ask for money.”
But sadly, this isn’t an uncommon occurrence for him. Apparently the AI-generated scams featuring his likeness are popular and effective, and he’s heard of it happening many times:
“That I know of who have lost money, it’s in the hundreds. I see people come to my appearances and look at me like they’ve had a relationship online for a couple of years. I’m like, ‘No. I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.’ It’s so sad. You see the devastation.”
Heartbreaking. We just can’t imagine.
This is a stark reminder to stay vigilant! Any celeb messaging you asking for cash is NOT them. Celebs have money! Don’t fall for it! Even with video evidence!
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Let us know (below).
[Image via General Hospital/KABC/YouTube]
The post AI Videos Of <i>General Hospital</i>’s Steve Burton Used To Scam Woman Out Of $81,000 — And She’s Not The First! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
