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   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, rec.arts.tv   
   From: seriously-retarded@ca.gov   
      
   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-   
   r-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-   
   eepfake-scammer-pretending-to-be-general-hospital-actor/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)