PS5: 6-year-old boy spends $ 16,000 on Sonic Forces, the game for iOS and Android

Sony Playstation 5 :

Micropayments and the lack of parental supervision once again did their thing in an American family who were surprised to find themselves with $ 16,000 spent on micropayments for Sonic Forces, Sonic’s video game for iOS and Android devices. which was released in Spain in 2017.

It all started last July with broker Jessica Johnson who started working from home with her two children. What he did not imagine is that by working, her youngest six-year-old son George started shopping at Sonic Forces, a title in which we can buy different power-ups and perks for prices from $ 1.99 to $ 99.99 to access new characters, increase speed or get other perks.

The first time Jessica started to suspect something was wrong was July 9 when they reached her bank account. 25 different fees for a total value of $ 2,500. At first she I thought it was some kind of mistake or fraud Due to the way these accusations are reflected, according to Jessica, it was impossible to imagine that they came from a video game.

A charge of $ 16,000 and a mystery solved in October

From those first 25 charges on her account, Jessica began to see how her debt grew until she hit the 16 293 $, with the broker between the interpositions a fraud complaint until, months later, the bank itself contacted her to assure her that it was not a fraud and that the charges against her account were completely legitimate, having to contact her Apple.

Immediately, Jessica contacted those in Cupertino who described them all one by one. charges to your bank account showing the game, at which point the broker found out what had happened, something that had no cure since Apple customer service commented that not having claimed these amounts in the first 60 days the purchases were made, they were unable to return the money.

“The reason I didn’t call during those 60 days is because the bank told me it looked like fraud,” says Jessica, adding that the bank itself customer service told him he should know there is an option to prevent in-app purchases on Apple devices, something she didn’t know and didn’t know that from in-game you could make purchases up to that number.

“Obviously, If I had known I wouldn’t have let my 6 year old spend around $ 20,000 in virtual gold rings. These games are made to be completely predatory and get kids to buy things. What adult would spend $ 100 on a chest of virtual gold coins, ”Jessica said indignantly.

In addition, the mother has also brought charges against Apple since “my son didn’t understand it was real money. How could I do it? He was playing a cartoon game in a world that he knows is not real. Why should the money be real to him? It requires a big cognitive leap. “

To end her story as she slowly pays off her debt, Jessica advises other parents to set up security options on their phones to avoid what happened to her.

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