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General Hospital’s Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) is headed for a double shock. He already knows that Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) is alive and has begged her to let him help her escape her captivity at the Five Poppies resort. While seeing a former dead lover actually alive was jarring, he’s going to be even more surprised when he discovers that Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is now a WSB agent. As those surprising events continue to unfold, Burton had his own real-life shocker when he learned he was being impersonated…by an AI deepfake.
A Convincing Fake
LA’s ABC7 Eyewitness News shared a teaser clip for a news report on Instagram, captioning it, “Scammers are now turning to artificial intelligence to get your money, and unfortunately for some people, it's working. Investigative reporter Kevin Ozebek tells us about a scam involving "General Hospital" star Steve Burton and a South Los Angeles woman today on Eyewitness News at 5 p.m. on ABC7.” The news report addressed a troubling case where artificial intelligence was used to impersonate the General Hospital star in a cruel scheme.
In the full report, viewers were shown two videos side by side: the real Steve Burton and an AI-generated fake. The fabricated clip featured a digital likeness of the actor declaring love for a woman named Abigail, who believed she was speaking directly to the soap star. The reporters explained that the scammer, or scammers, had used AI software to create an astonishing likeness of Burton which experts agreed could easily fool someone. Abigial did not appear in the video, but her daughter, Vivian Ruvalcaba, explained that because her mother was dealing with mental illness, it made her ripe for the picking by scammers. “I’m sickened by it because it went this far,” she said, explaining that she only learned what was happening after her mother had already sent money.
A Devastating Loss
According to the report, Abigail was persuaded through messages and fake videos to believe General Hospital’s Burton was in love with her and needed financial help. Over time, she sent at least $81,000 in cash, gift cards, and cryptocurrency, and even sold her condo for $350,000. Vivian intervened just before her mother was about to send an additional $70,000. “She’s ashamed,” Ruvalcaba explained, adding that the ordeal has weighed heavily on their entire family.
For Burton, the story is sadly familiar. He told investigators that scams like this have become widespread, saying, “That I know of, who have lost money, it’s in the hundreds.” He also emphasized, “First of all, I don’t need your money. I would never ask for money.” The General Hospital star called these AI-driven schemes an ‘epidemic,’ recounting how some fans have approached him at appearances, believing they were in long-term online relationships with him. “You just see..it’s so sad [when] you see the devastation,” he said.
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Abigail’s family is taking legal action to try to reverse the sale of her house. The reporters noted that this case is a sad and scary reminder that technology is moving with leaps and bounds, and anyone can be a victim. The investigators also warned viewers to be wary that any video they see online, and now potential interactions with celebrities, could indeed be fake.
General Hospital can be seen weekdays on ABC and Hulu.
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