My Son Spent $1,400 on Farmville and All I Got Was… Nothing
ADOTAS – “This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
The quintessential anti-drug ad of my childhood (though it did tend to make me hungry) should be updated after a 12-year-old British boy racked up $1,400 in debt playing Farmville, most of it on his mum’s credit card:
“This is your Visa bill. This is your Visa bill after your child starts playing Farmville. Holy shit!”
The boy’s mother was told by her credit card company that she could only get a refund if she turned him into the police. I think my parents might have done that, but this kid’s mother is more forgiving. Although Zynga won’t refund the money (Even if the family gives the goods back? Oh wait…), Facebook disabled the boy’s account and Zynga helpfully suggested using password protection in the future.
While the mother said her son is at fault, she did mention it was surprising no security systems picked up on his rampant spending, especially since he was using a credit card in a different name. A representative from HSBC mentioned to the Guardian that if the 625 pounds had been spent within two weeks on a gambling website, it would have raised red flags. But that much spent on Facebook credits apparently didn’t bat an eye.
I’m also not suggesting that Zynga or Facebook should shoulder the blame, but this incident certainly does paint Zynga as a dealer concerned about little except fueling its users’ habits. The fact it was a minor makes it a bit more sickening. Perhaps some new safeguards are in order?
Reader Comments.
No comments yet
Leave a Comment
Article Sponsor
More News
- AdTruth Assembles Industry Leaders in Gambit for a “Mobile Universal Identifier”
- Adobe Announces “Simulcast” Solution to Make Cross-Device Viewing More Like TV
- Two Reports: Photo/Video Is the Fastest-Growing App Category
- Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming
- Infographic: The Evolution of Marketing Automation
-
Loading ...
Latest News
- AdTruth Assembles Industry Leaders in Gambit for a “Mobile Universal Identifier” May 22nd 2012 ADOTAS - Device recognition service AdTruth (a division of fraud [...] more »
- Adobe Announces “Simulcast” Solution to Make Cross-Device Viewing More Like TV May 22nd 2012 ADOTAS - Today, Adobe released an updated version of its [...] more »
- Two Reports: Photo/Video Is the Fastest-Growing App Category May 22nd 2012 DM CONFIDENTIAL – According to recent numbers released by Flurry, [...] more »
- Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming May 18th 2012 ADOTAS - It’s been a day of superlatives, as the [...] more »
- Infographic: The Evolution of Marketing Automation May 18th 2012 ADOTAS – Marketing automation — the process of automating a [...] more »
- Welcome Aboard: New Hires at BrightRoll, AdSafe, More May 18th 2012 ADOTAS – While one internet-related company has pretty much dominated [...] more »
- Now You Can Be a Certified Digital Media Sales Pro through the IAB May 17th 2012 ADOTAS – You think you’re a digital sales pro, but [...] more »
Features
- Infographic: Where to Sell Online (A Flow Chart) May 22nd 2012
- How Online Measurement Is Transforming the Traditional Ad World May 22nd 2012
- Infographic: The ROI of Tag Management May 21st 2012
- Digital Goes Offline: Can Brands Take Back the Store? May 21st 2012
- What Does the Ideal Publisher Look Like? May 21st 2012
Spotlight
Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- Business Director-IEB-Microsoft Studios (792444)
- Marketing Communications Manager, Senior-IEB-TV &
- Senior Industry Marketing Manager - Media and Ente
- MARKETING DIRECTOR (medical software company)
- Senior Product Marketing Manager
Recent Comments
- Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming: [...] For more insights on what GM’s ploy might mean for Facebook and for the
- Facebook’s Anticlimactic IPO | LNP Studios: [...] Get more details here: Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming. [...]
- Bob Gordon: How has this circus helped anyone other than the sand hill crowd? Has it helped
- Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming: [...] For more insights on what GM’s ploy might mean for Facebook and for the
