8-Year-Old Girl Spends $75,000 on Mobile Games Using Mom’s Card
Mrs. La’s 8-year-old daughter secretly downloaded a mobile game recommended by a friend in May. She linked the game to her mom’s phone and bank account. When the family needed money, Mrs. La checked the bank card with 139,345 CNY (about 500 million VND) and was shocked to see only 1.84 CNY left. After questioning her daughter, she found out the money had been spent on the game the girl played daily.
After discovering this, Mrs. La went to the bank to review all transactions from May 1 to May 24.
After withdrawing 30,000 CNY in cash on May 11, the remaining 139,345 CNY seemed to vanish like water from a broken dam, with spending frequency rising from 9 to 50 transactions a day. Sadly, the girl admitted to using the card to buy game credits.
Even worse, the 8-year-old asked a friend to link their bank card to her account, but that friend ended up stealing the card info and also spending on the game.
This story is a wake-up call for parents to stay alert and guide kids on healthy gaming habits to avoid such costly incidents.
“Mini Thief” Steals $8,700 to Fund Gaming and Gambling
A 12-year-old boy named T was detained for theft. Investigations revealed he was short on gaming money and broke into a home in Rach Gia city on May 21. He stole gold bars, jewelry (necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings), 10 million VND cash, 1,000 USD, and 500 AUD, totaling about 200 million VND.
After stealing, T sold some gold and foreign currency for over 16 million VND, which he then lost gambling.
On May 22, while returning to his lodging, he was caught by Rach Gia city police. Shockingly, he had been involved in theft for four years.
7-Year-Old Spends Nearly $6,000 in One Day on Game Upgrades
Seven-year-old Mohamed Shugaa blew through $6,000 (around 140 million VND) in a single day buying items to upgrade his Jurassic World game account. His British father had to fight to get the money back from Apple, explaining that no adult would spend that much on a kids’ game, calling it an accident.
Apple eventually refunded the money. The father urged Apple to improve parental controls and monitor payments more closely, a point worth noting.
Dad Blames Apple After Son Spends Over $4,500 on Games
Unlike the other parents, Doug Crosson called the police immediately after discovering his 13-year-old son Cameron had spent $4,500 (over 100 million VND) on games like Nova 3, Gun Bros 2, Gun Builder, Infinity Blade, and Plants vs Zombies. Cameron said he didn’t realize he would spend so much.
Crosson blamed Apple, saying, “I’m the father of a polite, sensitive 13-year-old who was tricked after downloading free kids’ games on his iPod and iPad. The ones to blame aren’t my son.”
Losing money and heartbroken over his son, the dad shifted responsibility to Apple.
This should serve as a costly lesson for managing kids and their gaming habits.
