Parents’ alert! Kid spent over Rs 11 lakh on mom’s credit card; the reason will stun you

Are you one of those parents who let their children do whatever they wish with your phones? Or are your children in habit of playing games on your phone, every time you leave it to rest and you don’t stop them? If yes, you won’t let that happen ever again after reading this.  

In what came as a rude shock to Jessica Johnson, an Apple user from Wilton, Connecticut (USA), she discovered that a whopping $16,000 (roughly Rs 11.80 lakh) was spent on her credit card purchases. She did not spend those money, neither did she fell victim to cybercriminals. Apparently, her six-year-old son George Johnson was busy making purchases from his mother's credit card on Apple App Store for his favourite video game, Sonic Forces, using he iPad, said a report by a New York Post.

“Six-year-old George racked up a more than $16,000 in charges on his mother, Jessica Johnson's credit card as he went on a shopping spree on her iPad. The six-year-old bought add-on boosters for his game, starting with Red Rings ($1.99) and moving up to Gold Rings worth $99.99, allowing George to access new characters and more speed, spending hundreds of dollars at a time,” the report said.  

Jessica, 41, found out that the transactions were made in July when he had started using the iPad for his games and bought add-ons on the games.

Jessica did not notice this expensive expedition of little George until July 9, a day when Jessica was working in the next room, and 25 charges totalling over $2,500 (Rs 1,80,000 lakh approx) were made on her card.

She initially thought she had been duped by online fraudsters and filed a fraud claim when her bill reached $16,293.10 (Rs 11.99 lakh by direct conversion).  

"The way the charges get bundled made it almost impossible [to figure out that] they were from a game," she was quoted in the New York Post as saying.  
It wasn't until October that she was told that the charges were indeed hers and she needs to contact Apple for the same.

When Jessica reached out to Apple seeking a refund. She was outrightly refused because she did not claim the money within 60 days. Apple refused to budge even when Jessica told them that because of the difference in her bank account she would not be able to pay her family’s mortgage.  

She admitted she hadn’t put preventive settings on her account, because she didn’t know about them.“Obviously, if I had known there was a setting for that, I wouldn’t have allowed my 6-year-old to run up nearly $20,000 in charges for virtual gold rings,” said Jessica to the New York Post.

“Obviously, if I had known there was a setting for that, I wouldn’t have allowed my 6-year-old to run up nearly $20,000 in charges for virtual gold rings,” said Jessica. She also accused the gaming company of being “predatory” and luring kids to buy things on the app.
 

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below: