<p>Looking for a roommate online? You better read this. A bank staffer, who had put a Facebook post saying he was looking for a roommate, lost his mobile phone and Rs 50,000 to a total stranger who posed as a prospective flatmate, according to a police complaint. </p>.<p>Ashutosh Mishra lives with a flatmate named Divyam in Kashi Nagar, Byatarayanapura, North Bengaluru. To save some money, they decided to have another flatmate.</p>.<p>On August 1, Divyam posted a message on Facebook, saying he was looking for a flatmate. </p>.<p>Three days later, a person who has a Facebook profile named Hita Choudary contacted Divyam and showed interest in sharing the flat. He later texted him on WhatsApp seeking details of the place. </p>.<p>The man arrived at their flat around 11 am on August 6 and met both Divyam and Mishra. He gave his name as Anvesh, a native of Andhra Pradesh. Divyam and Mishra showed him the place, and he said he liked it and was ready to move in next month. </p>.<p>Happy that they had finally found a roommate, Mishra went to the washroom while Divyam got busy on the phone. The stranger took advantage of this. He told Divyam that his driver had arrived and left in a huff, promising to return soon with his belongings. </p>.<p>When Mishra came out of the washroom, a shocker awaited him — his mobile phone was missing. Suspecting that Anvesh had stolen it, he rang him but the phone was switched off. </p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>‘A clean wipeout’</strong></p>.<p>Mishra then decided to check his bank balance on his computer and was stunned to find that Rs 50,000 had been wiped off. It was a clean wipeout. Mishra hadn’t done any bank transactions that day. </p>.<p>An upset Mishra later filed a complaint at the jurisdictional Amruthahalli police station.</p>.<p>When <em><span class="italic">DH</span> </em>contacted him for comment, he refused to speak. </p>.<p>A senior police officer who is investigating the case said that the miscreant likely used a digital payments app to siphon off the money. </p>.<p>“We are yet to hear from the bank about the exact transaction that the miscreant made,” the officer said, adding efforts were underway to track him down. </p>
<p>Looking for a roommate online? You better read this. A bank staffer, who had put a Facebook post saying he was looking for a roommate, lost his mobile phone and Rs 50,000 to a total stranger who posed as a prospective flatmate, according to a police complaint. </p>.<p>Ashutosh Mishra lives with a flatmate named Divyam in Kashi Nagar, Byatarayanapura, North Bengaluru. To save some money, they decided to have another flatmate.</p>.<p>On August 1, Divyam posted a message on Facebook, saying he was looking for a flatmate. </p>.<p>Three days later, a person who has a Facebook profile named Hita Choudary contacted Divyam and showed interest in sharing the flat. He later texted him on WhatsApp seeking details of the place. </p>.<p>The man arrived at their flat around 11 am on August 6 and met both Divyam and Mishra. He gave his name as Anvesh, a native of Andhra Pradesh. Divyam and Mishra showed him the place, and he said he liked it and was ready to move in next month. </p>.<p>Happy that they had finally found a roommate, Mishra went to the washroom while Divyam got busy on the phone. The stranger took advantage of this. He told Divyam that his driver had arrived and left in a huff, promising to return soon with his belongings. </p>.<p>When Mishra came out of the washroom, a shocker awaited him — his mobile phone was missing. Suspecting that Anvesh had stolen it, he rang him but the phone was switched off. </p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>‘A clean wipeout’</strong></p>.<p>Mishra then decided to check his bank balance on his computer and was stunned to find that Rs 50,000 had been wiped off. It was a clean wipeout. Mishra hadn’t done any bank transactions that day. </p>.<p>An upset Mishra later filed a complaint at the jurisdictional Amruthahalli police station.</p>.<p>When <em><span class="italic">DH</span> </em>contacted him for comment, he refused to speak. </p>.<p>A senior police officer who is investigating the case said that the miscreant likely used a digital payments app to siphon off the money. </p>.<p>“We are yet to hear from the bank about the exact transaction that the miscreant made,” the officer said, adding efforts were underway to track him down. </p>
