Hitchin residents are being warned about an unusually elaborate apparent scam involving fake Facebook profiles, AI-generated photographs and a fictitious local dairy farm.

A profile using the name "Bob Hall" claimed to have recently bought "Hall Farm" near Hitchin. Over several days the account built an extensive backstory, posting images of the supposed farmer, livestock, farm buildings and a vintage pickup truck, as well as reacting to genuine local events including this week's heavy storm.

However, reverse-image searches showed profile photographs had been taken from unrelated material online, while a number of the supposed photographs of Hall Farm were labelled by Facebook as AI-generated. Other suspicious accounts also interacted with "Bob", apparently helping to establish his credibility and even posting an AI-generated image supposedly showing them together at the farm.

The account then advertised a new doorstep milk round, offering milk in reusable glass bottles for £1 per litre. Shortly afterwards it claimed there had been an "extraordinary" response, before announcing that a sudden failure of its bottling equipment meant deliveries could not begin.

No request for money was seen before the accounts were banned from the Facebook group, so the intended final stage of the apparent scam is unknown. The original advertisement had, however, introduced the possibility of customers paying refundable bottle deposits.

The incident demonstrates how scammers can now use AI to create not just a fake profile, but an apparently convincing local identity, business, friendships and history before eventually attempting to gain people's trust.

Residents are advised to independently verify businesses advertised through social media before providing personal details or making payments, particularly where the business has little or no existence outside Facebook.