A teenager in China is making headlines around the world after spending around $64-thousand of her parents’ money on mobile games. Her mom and dad had no idea she was blowing through money like this until a teacher from their daughter’s boarding school reached out, worried that the 13-year-old girl was addicted to pay-to-play games.
At that point, her mom, Gong Yiwang, checked her bank account and found she only had a balance of seven cents. Her daughter had wiped out their savings account without their knowledge. The mother later learned that from January to May, her teen had spent around $16,800 buying game accounts and nearly $30-thousand on in-game purchases, according to Elephant News in China. She also transferred money to at least 10 of her classmates who wanted game products for themselves and pushed her to give them money after finding out about her spending spree.
The girl says she linked her mom’s debit card to her mobile phone, but claims she didn’t know where the money came from or how much she was spending. To try to hide the payments from her parents, she deleted chat and transaction records. “I never thought a 13-year-old girl could do this,” the mother told Elephant News. “I’m in a daze, my head feels like it’s going to explode.”
- Gong says she’s reached out to several payment platforms to ask for refunds, but she hasn’t gotten the money back yet.
Source: Insider
Scott's Thoughts:
- How do you punish a kid for this? Ground her for life? There’s no way she can right this wrong!
- I never had this happen. I think I have always had my stuff password protected with no access to anyone. Especially my kids when they were little.
- Where did this girl think the money was coming from? She’s 13, she had to understand that those charges were adding up!