Bro, take a seat and hold tight, because ING Bank Romania has launched a 'SAFEcall' that makes you feel like you're at Interpol! Now, when you make a shady transaction, 'Maria' from the call center calls you, not some Indian robot. For real, I was shocked when I heard: real-time automated calls to block fraud. I mean, dude, you see an incoming call from 037INGSAFE and you have to choose: press 9 if you're the slick guy who bought a BMW part on Olx, or press 1 if you clicked a link saying 'you won 10,000 lei'. Ice cold!

Listen up how it works: when the bank's system detects a payment that's out of pattern - like you, poor guy, pay 500 lei to Fane at the terrace, but suddenly you transfer 10,000 to a 'Nigerian prince' - bam, 'Maria' calls you with that sweet voice. You confirm with 9, or cancel with 1. Alin Becheanu, the head of fraud at ING, says modern fraud relies on 'social engineering', meaning our stupidity, not safe cracking. 'We want to build a real partnership with clients,' he says. Partnership, bro! Like me and the bank are drinking buddies. I'm driving a 2008 BMW with aftermarket parts, and they have a headquarters in Pipera. But at least now, if Mioara calls me saying her card was stolen, I can tell her: 'Wait, girl, Maria will call you!'

You know what's the deal? These guys don't want us to be victims anymore. They tell you: 'Save the number in your contacts, so you don't think it's a scam!' And what do I do? I save it as 'ING - My Soul's Salvation'. But, bro, don't think it's a joke: the bank says they will never call you asking for OTPs or passwords. Never! You hear? If some 'Ionel' calls you and says 'Hey, give me the code from the SMS', you hang up and call 0374.647.233. Or better yet, come to Fane's, I have a beer and I'll explain it to you in detail.

Now, seriously, what do we Romanians do when we get a call from the bank? First instinct: 'Oh no, what happened?' Then, instead of pressing 1, we press 9 and say 'Yes, yes, it's my transaction!' And boom, we got scammed. So listen to me: if 'Maria' calls you and you're not sure, better hang up and call back yourself. Or, even better, let me tell you: you didn't do anything, bro, stop wasting money on nonsense! Because, as they say: 'Fraud is big, but the Romanian is smarter.' Or maybe not...

In the meantime, I'm going to explain to Brian how to recognize a call from Maria, not from some 'homeboy' who wants to steal his Bitcoins. You stay alert and don't forget: for scams, press 1!