Kid Steals Credit Card, Blows $1,400 on FarmVille

Recently a British 12-year-old boy stole his mother's credit card and charged $1,400 on the Facebook game, FarmVille. According to The Guardian, the pre-teen had dumped his personal funds into the game before seeking out and draining the plastic goods from Mom. The woman, who remained anonymous in the report, said she had no idea he used the card until she received her monthly statement.

"The first use of my card was on 14 March," she said. "I discovered it on the 29th and the card was stopped at that point. Any transactions after that date were already in the system, so what I thought was a £427 spend turned into £625 over the next few days. The total spend is about £905, but the credits are still rolling in."

The mother attempted to get her money back, however the game's publisher, Zynga, refused to reverse the charges, stating that the boy lived within her home. Instead, the company suggested that she use password protection on her computers in order to prevent further problems.

The actual credit card company--HSBC--said she would qualify for a refund only if she reported her son to the police and obtained the crime number.

Facebook disabled the boy's account.

The unnamed mother told The Guardian that she doesn't blame Facebook, Zynga, or the credit card company, but rather places the entire blame on her son. However, she also noted that all three needed to take partial responsibility in the matter by implementing some kind of security feature in the future. "The fact that he was using a card in a different name should bring up some sort of security and the online secure payment filter seems to be bypassed for Facebook payments," she said.

As for the pre-teen, he was shocked by the final amount charged to the card, but the mother said she could tell that he knew what he had done--there was no denying the deed. "When I asked him why he did it, he said that they had brought out 'good stuff that I wanted'," she said.

Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then, he’s loved all things PC-related and cool gadgets ranging from the New Nintendo 3DS to Android tablets. He is currently a contributor at Digital Trends, writing about everything from computers to how-to content on Windows and Macs to reviews of the latest laptops from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more. 

  • if she did 'down, forward, punch' she would perform a 'haduken' on her son which should be sufficient in knocking some sense into the child.
    Reply
  • PieceMaker42
    At least she blames it primarily on her child, not many parents these days take that responsibility. Of course her saying there should be more security is not the best conclusion, why not just leave the credit card out of reach? Simple and 100% effective, If he was my kid he would be getting a job and lose his whole summer getting my money back, teach him how much a dollar is worth.
    Reply
  • taiso
    this is a motivator for not having kids
    Reply
  • ronch79
    Stupid kid. :P
    Reply
  • bujuki
    For most kids gaming is highly tempting, just like sex to male. :P
    I agree to PieceMaker42's suggestion on punishment. Furthermore, parents should keep trying to find what their kids are interested in outside game (like sport or art) and try to make them comfortable and happy with that. Even after they're grown-up and live by games they still needs activities outside it.

    If a child can waste $1400 on FarmVille, then how much would Hitler waste on it?? (Hitler Reacts To Nvidia Fermi, Youtube: watch?v=VpZXhR1ibj8) :P:P
    Reply
  • fjjb
    Imagine the face of this poor mother when she saw that bill!!
    Reply
  • Ha! that sucks for the mother! but Farmville Blows any way
    Reply
  • timaahhh
    luke7777777if she did 'down, forward, punch' she would perform a 'haduken' on her son which should be sufficient in knocking some sense into the child.
    I am almost always glad I read the comments section. I also love, 'I place the blame on my Kid'. That is excellent right there. Security has gone out the window, kids can break Windows passwords in mins using free passwork breaking utilizes in windows, loggin on in single user mode in linux, and Mac users don't user passwords (kidding). I've never played farmville but ifs anything like Xbox live then once u put your credit card in you are at the mercy of the kid playing it. I wasn't even aware that xbox live asks for no validation number once your CC is in there it will charge anything. If I knew I would have just went to walmart and bought those little point card things.
    Reply
  • stephen0983
    lol that poor kid will only grow to worse things like WoW
    Reply
  • jenesuispasbavard
    You can spend money on Farmville?
    Reply