I had an interesting "hard luck" story the other day, but will post another time.

In the meantime, here's one from Mweb.
Bloemfontein - Two boys in Bloemfontein have been "stealing" from businesses in the area, using a heart-rending fake story about a friend who died after being hit by a bus.

An adult woman is apparently the two boys' partner in crime.

Jianni Cilliers from Agrinet Solutions in Westdene says the two criminals are between eight and 10 years old.

"They came here asking for a donation for the funeral of a child who'd died after being hit by a bus at the school.

"They had a form with a city school's logo on it. I asked for their teacher's name, but when I said I'm going to call the school, they ran away."
This sort of thing just messes up the chances of folk who really need help.