AI deepfake romance scam steals woman's home and life savings

A woman named Abigail believed she was in a romantic relationship with a famous actor. The messages felt real. The voice sounded right. The video looked authentic. And the love felt personal. 

By the time her family realized what was happening, more than $81,000 was gone — and so was the paid-off home she planned to retire in.

We spoke with Vivian Ruvalcaba on my "Beyond Connected" podcast about what happened to her mother and how quickly the scam unfolded. What began as online messages quietly escalated into financial ruin and the loss of a family home. Vivian is Abigail's daughter. She is now her mother's advocate, investigator, chief advocate and protector.

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FROM FRIENDLY TEXT TO FINANCIAL TRAP: THE NEW SCAM TREND

The scam did not begin with a phone call or a threat. It began with a message. "Facebook is where it started," Vivian explained. "She was directly messaged by an individual." That individual claimed to be Steve Burton, a longtime star of "General Hospital." Abigail watched the show regularly. She knew his face. She knew his voice.

After a short time, the conversation moved off Facebook. "He then led her to create an account with WhatsApp," Vivian said. "When I discovered that, and I looked at the messaging, you can see all the manipulation."

That shift mattered. This is a major red flag I often warn people about. When a scammer moves a conversation from a public platform like Facebook to an encrypted app like WhatsApp, it is usually deliberate and designed to avoid detection.

At first, Abigail told no one. "She was very, very secretive," Vivian said. "She didn't share any of this with anyone. Not my father. Not me." 

That secrecy was not accidental. "She was being groomed not to share this information," Vivian explained.

This is a tactic I see over and over again in scams like this. Once a scammer feels they have someone emotionally invested, the next step is to isolate them. They push victims to keep secrets and avoid talking to family, friends or police. When Vivian finally started asking questions, her mother reacted in a way she never had before. "She said, 'It's none of your business,'" Vivian said. "That was shocking."

When Vivian threatened to go to the police, her mother finally revealed what had been happening. "That's when she showed me the AI video," Vivian said. In the clip, a man who looked and sounded like Steve Burton spoke directly to Abigail and referred to her as "Abigail, my queen." The message felt personal. It used her name and promised love and reassurance.

"It wasn't grainy," Vivian said. "To the naked eye, you couldn't tell." Still, Vivian sensed something was off. "I looked at it, and I knew right away," she said. "Mom, this is not real. This is AI."

Her mother disagreed and argued back. She pointed to the face and the voice. She also believed the phone calls proved it. That is what makes deepfakes so dangerous. When a video looks and sounds real, it can override common sense and even years of trust within a family.

The money flowed slowly at first. A $500 gift card request raised the first alarm. Then, money orders and Zelle payments. What Vivian discovered next still haunts her. "She pulled out a sandwich baggie," Vivian said. "About 110 gift cards ranging from $25 up to $500." Those cards were purchased with credit cards. Cash was mailed. Bitcoin was sent. In total, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tallied the losses at $81,000. And the scam was not finished.

After draining Abigail's available cash, the scam did not stop. It escalated again. The scammer began pushing her to sell the one asset she still had: her home. "He was pressing her to sell," Vivian told me. "Because he wanted more money." The pressure came wrapped in romance. The scammer told Abigail they would buy a beach house together and start a new life. In her mind, this was not a scam. It was a plan for the future. That belief set off a chain reaction.

Abigail sold her condo for $350,000, even though similar homes in the area were worth closer to $550,000 at the time. The sale happened quickly. There was no family involvement. Her husband was still living in the home, yet he did not sign the documents. "She just gave away about $200,000 in equity," Vivian said. "They stole it."

What makes this even more troubling is who bought the property. According to Vivian, the buyer was a wholesale real estate company that moved fast and asked very few questions. Messages later reviewed by the family show Abigail actively trying to hide the sale from her husband. In one text exchange, she warned the buyer not to park in the driveway because her husband had access to a Ring camera. That alone should have raised concerns. Instead, the buyers went along with it. "They appeased whatever she asked for," Vivian said. "They were getting a property she was basically giving away."

These buyers were not the original scammers, but they benefited from the pressure the scammer created. The scammer pushed Abigail to sell. The buyers took advantage of the situation and the deeply discounted price. The home was not extra money, it was Abigail's retirement. It was the only real security she and her husband had after decades of work. By the time Vivian uncovered the sale, Abigail was days away from sending another $70,000 from the proceeds to the scammer. Had that transfer gone through, nearly everything would have been gone.

This is the part of the story people struggle to process. Modern AI-driven scams are no longer limited to draining bank accounts or gift cards. They now push victims into selling real property, often with opportunistic players waiting on the other side of the deal.

Vivian contacted the police the same day she realized her mother was being scammed. "They assigned an investigator," she told me. "He was already very aware of the situation and how little they can help." That reality is difficult for families to hear, but it is common. 

Many large-scale scams operate overseas. The money moves quickly through gift cards, wire transfers and crypto. By the time victims realize what is happening, the trail is often cold. "Most of these scammers are out of the country," Vivian said. "No one is being held accountable."

Law enforcement documented the losses and opened a case, but there was little they could do to recover the money or stop what had already happened. The deeper damage came from the home sale, which fell into a legal gray area far beyond a typical fraud report. Once the condo was sold, the situation shifted from a criminal scam to a complex civil fight.

Vivian immediately began searching for legal help. The first attorneys she contacted discouraged her. One told her it could cost more than $150,000 to pursue a case. Another failed to act even after being told about Abigail's mental illness and history of bipolar disorder. At one point, an eviction attorney testified in court that Vivian never mentioned the romance scam, something she strongly disputes.

By March, Abigail and her husband were forced out of their home. By October, they were fully evicted and locked out. Both parents are now displaced. Abigail is living with family out of state. Her husband, now in his mid-70s, is still working because the home was his retirement. 

It was only after reaching out through personal connections that Vivian found an attorney willing to fight. That attorney is now pursuing the case on a contingency basis, meaning the family does not pay unless there is a recovery. The legal argument centers on Abigail's mental capacity and whether she could legally understand and execute a home sale under the circumstances. The buyers dispute that claim. The outcome will be decided in court.

This is why stories like this rarely end with a police arrest or quick resolution. Once a scam crosses into real estate and civil law, families are often left to navigate an expensive and exhausting legal system on their own. And by then, the damage has already been done.

Many victims never report scams. Only about 22% contact the FBI. Fewer than 30% reach out to their local police department. Vivian understands why that happens. "She's ashamed," Vivian said. "I know she is." That shame protects scammers. Silence gives them room to move on and target the next victim.

INSIDE A SCAMMER’S DAY AND HOW THEY TARGET YOU

This case reveals warning signs every family needs to recognize early.

I want to be very clear about this. It does not matter how smart you are or how careful you think you are. You can become a victim and not realize it until it is too late.

These lessons come from both Vivian's experience and the patterns I see repeatedly in modern scams. Some are emotional. Others are technical. Together, they can help families spot trouble sooner and limit the damage when something feels off.

Moving a conversation from Facebook to WhatsApp or another encrypted app is not harmless. Scammers do this to avoid moderation and make messages harder to trace or flag.

Deepfake videos and cloned voices can look and sound convincing. Never treat a video or voice message as proof of identity, especially when money or property is involved.

Scammers create urgency on purpose. Any request involving large sums, property sales or retirement assets should pause until a trusted third party reviews it.

Legitimate people do not ask for payment through gift cards or cryptocurrency. These methods are a common scam tactic because they are hard to trace and nearly impossible to recover.

Silence helps scammers. Regular conversations about finances, online contacts and unusual requests make it easier to spot problems early and step in without shame.

Scammers research their targets using public databases. They pull names, phone numbers, relatives and property records. Removing that data reduces how easily criminals can build a profile.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren't cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It's what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

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Malware links can expose financial accounts without obvious signs. Good antivirus software can block malicious links before they lead to deeper access or data theft.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

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Living trusts and proper estate planning add protection before a crisis hits. They can help prevent rushed property sales and limit who can legally move assets without oversight.

"Conservatorship is the only way," Vivian said. "Power of attorney may not be enough." When a loved one has diminished capacity, a conservatorship adds court oversight and can stop unauthorized financial decisions before serious damage occurs.

This scam did not rely on sloppy emails or obvious mistakes. It used emotion, familiarity and AI that looked real. Once trust was built, the damage followed quickly. Money disappeared. Secrecy grew. Pressure increased. The home was sold. What makes this case especially painful is the speed. A few messages led to gift cards. Gift cards turned into life savings. Life savings became the loss of a home built over decades. Most families never expect this to happen. Many do not talk about it until it has already happened. The lesson is clear. Awareness matters more than intelligence. Open conversations matter more than embarrassment. Acting early matters more than trying to undo the damage later. If you want to hear Vivian tell this story in her own words and understand how fast these scams unfold, listen to our full conversation on the "Beyond Connected" podcast.

If a deepfake video showed up on your parent's phone tonight, would you know before everything was gone? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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