Teen drains family’s savings of $64K — by buying mobile games
A 13-year-old girl in China spent over $64,000 on pay-to-play mobile games in just five months. Gong Yiwang, the mother of the teen, discovered the transactions only after receiving a call from her daughter’s school, and found that her bank account had been emptied. The daughter reportedly spent $16,800 on game accounts and $30,000 on in-game purchases between January and May of this year. While the daughter claims that she did not know where the money was coming from, she did delete transactions and messages to hide the evidence from her parents. Yiwang is currently attempting to retrieve the lost funds, though she has yet to receive any refunds from the gaming platforms.
China has made efforts to limit children’s access to online gaming in recent years. The government introduced internet addiction camps as a way to treat children with addiction disorders. In 2021, the government also established a three-hour limit on online gaming for minors each week.
FAQs
What happened in China with the 13-year-old girl and video games?
A 13-year-old girl in China spent over $64,000 on mobile games in just five months. Her mother found out only after receiving a call from her daughter’s school, and the bank account was emptied. The daughter reportedly spent $16,800 on game accounts and $30,000 on in-game purchases.
Did the daughter know she was spending her family’s life savings?
The daughter claims that she did not know where the money was coming from, but she did delete transactions and messages to hide the evidence from her parents.
What has the Chinese government done to limit children’s access to online gaming?
In recent years, China has introduced internet addiction camps as a way to treat children with addiction disorders. In 2021, the government established a three-hour limit on online gaming for minors each week.
Teenager depletes family’s savings by $64K through mobile game purchases.
A 13-year-old girl in China has spent $64,000 on pay-to-play mobile video games using her family’s debit card. The girl’s mother, Gong Yiwang, only realised what had happened when she received a call from the school. Yiwang checked her bank balance and was shocked to find it was only seven cents. Her daughter had spent five months making payments on game accounts totaling an estimated $46,800. According to Insider, the girl’s mother has said she is now trying to find a way to recover the funds lost. She said she has requested refunds from numerous platforms but has yet to receive any money.
The teenager reportedly gifted funds to classmates wanting to play the games, while also deleting transactions and messages to hide the evidence from her parents. She said she wasn’t aware where the money came from, just that her mom’s bank account was linked to her cell phone. The daughter explained that if she didn’t send funds to her friends, they pestered her all day, and she was afraid to tell the teacher because she didn’t want to make her parents angry.
The Chinese government has attempted to curb children’s addiction to online gaming by limiting their game time to three hours a week in 2021. Additionally, internet addiction camps have been introduced to treat those with an internet addiction disorder. The girl’s actions have prompted concerns over the need for better measures to control children’s use of mobile devices and access to online games.