While trawling the Internet for part-time jobs in September after being furloughed from her travel company in March, Sumathi Rao, a New York-based travel agent, spotted a job offer in her FB newsfeed she could not pass up. It seemed too good to be true
account now suspended) had an opening for a Fundraising Assistant. Their pitch was promising. She could work from home. Her responsibilities would include helping her manager Didiane Marcheterre (
possibly an alias), write to donors for contributions. Funds from the charitable foundation would supposedly support non-profit hospitals, medical workers, and healthcare projects. The salary, at $1000 a week, thought Rao, would nicely supplement the $300 lost wages assistance New York state benefit offered to eligible workers looking for jobs. It would serve as a cushion until the pandemic eased off and her old job, hopefully, was reinstated.