A 13-year-old girl spent her family’s entire life savings on mobile game transactions without her parents’ knowledge. The Chinese teen is said to have spent a whopping $64,000 on the games. Her spending spree was only discovered when her boarding school teacher contacted her parents as the girl seemed to be addicted to pay-to-play games on her phone.
Gong Yiwang, the girl’s mother, checked the family’s bank account and discovered that they had a balance of only seven cents, according to Elephant News. In the period of five months, between January and May, the 13-year-old had gone through many thousands of dollars on game accounts and in-app purchases.
“I never thought a 13-year-old girl could do this,” her mother said. “I’m in a daze; my head feels like it’s going to explode.”
64k on mobile games 😩. They need help, pay to advance or win gaming can be worst than drugs. It’s the sense of instant gratification 😮💨😍. I’ve definitely spent a few racks on gaming not 60k tho.
— 🎥Content💻Sensei 🙏🏽 (@cakedagreat) June 8, 2023
The girl later admitted to linking her mom’s debit card to her phone. Since she remembered the account’s password from when her mom previously gave her permission to use the card on a single purchase, she was able to use it on a daily basis. However, how she was able to continue this for five months without her parents ever noticing seems a whole other matter.
According to the teen, she had no idea how much she was spending. She was also forced to give her classmates money, saying, “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 my parents would be angry.”
That’s a lesson to be learned. Your kids should never have access to your bank accounts!
— Tassos (@TAmprazis) June 8, 2023
Gong Yiwang has said she’s filed requests with the gaming companies for refunds, but so far, she hasn’t gotten any of her money back.
Social media had a field day with the story, with pretty much everyone admitting how shocked they were to hear that such a thing was possible. “That’s a lesson to be learned. Your kids should never have access to your bank accounts!” one person remarked on Twitter. Another added, “They need to bring back ass whooping. How do you burn your entire family’s savings on games?”
They need to bring back ass whooping. How do you burn your entire family’s savings on games?
— IRUNNIA (@Irunnia_) June 8, 2023
