A Pietermaritzburg family were traumatised, then shattered, to discover they had been the victims of a vicious scam by a gang that falsely told them their beloved domestic worker had died.
The gang elicited payment of more than R6 000 from the family for funeral expenses at the weekend.
Pete Jorgensen, a veterinary surgeon, said the con artists had been "professional and highly convincing" and the trauma of being informed of the death of Anna Magwanyane, 61, whom he described as "an absolute darling and a part of the family", had been devastating.
A day after paying the money the family discovered she was in fact alive, and she returned to work on Monday quite unaware of the drama that had unfolded.
"The emotional damage to us was huge. We were anguished. My sister began painting a picture of Anna as she tried to work through her grief. My son was on a varsity field trip, which was totally ruined as a result of this news," he said.
The family received a telephone call to say that Magwanyane had been killed by a car after he had dropped her in Retief Street, Pietermaritzburg, on Friday afternoon.
"Then the harassment started for money." Jorgensen spoke to several people on various occasions, as details of their requirements were finalised.
"They were really convincing. There were people wailing and crying in the background and so on."
He also bought R110 worth of cellphone air time for the gang and deposited R6 000 into a Standard Bank account on Saturday.
The account into which he paid the money had been opened in Pretoria and the cash was withdrawn within half an hour, using a false identity document.
Jorgensen said the con artists had known Magwanyane's identity number, address and other private details. All this had laid to rest any suspicions he might have had.