Posted on 07/15/2023 10:53:36 AM PDT by nickcarraway
A 13-year-old girl in China spent around $64,000 of her parents' money on mobile games this year, wiping out their savings account without their knowledge.
Gong Yiwang learned about the spending spree in late May after receiving a call from a teacher at her daughter's boarding school, who worried the child was addicted to pay-to-play games, according to Elephant News, a regional TV channel in the Henan province.
When Gong checked her bank account, she realized it was left with a bank balance of only seven cents.
She later discovered that from January to May, her daughter had spent around $16,800 buying game accounts and almost $30,000 on in-game purchases, per Elephant News. The girl also transferred money to at least 10 classmates who wanted to buy game products for themselves, bringing the total cost of the child's monthslong binge to around $64,000.
"I never thought a 13-year-old girl could do this," Gong told Elephant News. "I'm in a daze; my head feels like it's going to explode."
Weeping as she spoke, Gong's daughter told Elephant News that she had linked her mother's debit card to her mobile phone but didn't know where the money came from or how much she was spending. She said that she remembered her mother telling her the account's password from a previous occasion when she asked to buy something else.
She said her school friends noticed her newfound spending power and pestered her for money.
"If I didn't send it to them, they would bother me all day. If I told the teacher, I was afraid that the teacher would tell my parents and that my parents would be angry," she told Elephant News.
She also deleted chat and transaction records to hide the payments from her parents, per the outlet.
Gong said she reached out to several payment platforms to request refunds but had yet to recoup her losses on the full sum.
The story of the girl's spending habits went viral in China in late May, receiving more than 140 million views on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, per data seen by Insider.
Gaming addiction among youth in China is so prevalent that the country has introduced internet restrictions on teenagers and children. Teens in the country aren't supposed to play video games for more than three hours a week, a goal the Chinese government said it was progressing steadily toward.
Did she have a good time?
Must have a heck of credit limit
No “credit limit” on a debit card, just the account balance.
ALL their money was in an account accessible by a debit card?
ALL their money was in an account accessible by a debit card?
Totally worth it. She’s got a lifetime of memories.
My 8 yr old nephew bought 400 bucks worth of roblux from my sisters apple account..how did he do it, he kept on requesting a change to her password so he’s been working off his debt, doing odd jobs around the house etc..oh and he’s been banned from playing roblux ever..and no more iPad
S.art Phones....
I’m hooked on stupid Cat videos.
.
FREEDOM!!!
It was stupid of them to have that much in an account with a debit card/
Insane to keep life savings accessible with a debit card.
My debit card links only my checking account, and I keep minimum amounts in checking.
I thought Super Nintendo was expensive at $199.00.
My grandson is addicted to Roblox. Talk about your unholy scams, targeting 7 year old kids.
13 eh. Stole their entire fortune, in China. May not see 14.
One reason why “economic prosperity” is of and by itself not truly transformative of society.
My 7 year old was on a computer belonging to his 16 year old brother and was able to access my estranged wife’s credit card for a handful of purchases before she got wise. Notifications are a good thing.
While an undisciplined person can get into a heap of trouble with a credit card, one does shave better odds of being notified and not being on the hook if something fishy is going on.
This is in China. The parents can probably recoup by selling the girl’s body parts.
Any word on whether she won?
Not sure how it works in China. But here you can dispute charges made by a minor and get refunded. My kid once racked a couple hundred on Sewer Surfer that I got back with one phone call
It wouldn’t surprise me if the story is fake - planted for the purpose of an upcoming crackdown on video games.
I dont have a debit card I just use my DL for ID at my bank ...
I withdraw cash every so often for groceries, gas etc
I use a credit card just for travel plane tickets hotels etc...
I use cash for any food and gas as I travel ...
and I dont do online gambling or games ...
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