General Hospital: A Steve Burton Fan Has Been Scammed
‘I’m Sickened’: AI Version of General Hospital’s Steve Burton Swindles a Fan Out of $80k — and It Could Happen to You
If you’ve ever shaken your head and asked how people fall for scams in which someone posing as a celebrity asks for money, this story might just change your mind. Why? Because the woman in question — who lost over $80,000 and even sold her home — wasn’t simply approached via Facebook or some other social media platform. Rather, she received numerous personalized videos from an AI-generated version of General Hospital’s Steve Burton (Jason) that were so realistic, the actor himself, upon seeing them, acknowledged that it sounded just like him.
In another case of a daytime star being impersonated in order to take advantage of a fan, ABC’s 7 On Your Side Investigates recently connected with the daughter of a woman who truly believed she’d been speaking to Burton. The station shared what tech experts believe was an AI-generated video that looked like the ABC soap vet, one that preyed on Vivian Ruvalcaba’s mother Abigail, who has suffered from mental illness and Bipolar 1 Disorder, by claiming to be in love with her.
In tears, Ruvalcaba shared, “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 also could see why her mom fell for the scam, considering the video looked like Burton, but had no idea Abigail had been connecting with the scammer, who convinced her to send them $81,304 in gift cards, cash and bitcoin, as noted in a Los Angeles Police Department incident report. She even sold her condo for $350,000 — and in the nick of time, her daughter found out what had been transpiring just as her mom was set to send another $70,000 from the sale.
It all started by the scammer sending her videos followed by conversations on WhatsApp. However like Ruvalcaba stated, “In her head, there was no scammer. She was talking to Steve Burton the entire time.” With her mom now in “complete debt” and having to “file for bankruptcy,” Ruvalcaba added, “She’s ashamed. I know she is, and to put that stress on me, on herself, on my dad, the entire family, I know it weighs heavy on her.”
The news outlet talked with Burton, who confirmed that he’s heard of hundreds of women who have been caught up in scams like this with people claiming to be him. He’s even seen scammers commenting under fans’ posts on his official Instagram page, luring them elsewhere in order to swindle them out of money, and has warned in the past about his stance on social media.
When shown the video that tricked Abigail, Burton acknowledged that he’s seen these videos before then shared what has happened when meeting various women at his events, which is absolutely mind-blowing…
And please, fans, be cautious when trying to connect with your favorite stars. Like Burton stated, this style of scam is becoming an epidemic and peoples’ lives are being destroyed by these criminals.