Let’s say you get a surprise bill for $5,900. You don’t know where this bill came from. Then you find out the bill came from your 7-year-son!
In the United Kingdom, that’s what happened to a father named Mohammad Shugga. In December 2015, he learned his 7-year-old son racked a $5,900 tab (4,000 British pounds), on his Apple account. All of it was billed to the iPad game Jurassic World, based on the wildly successful movie franchise Jurassic Park. Jurassic World is a combination of tycoon games like Sim City or Rollercoaster Tycoon and a Pokemon style gaming iPad game. You build your own dinosaur park, creating dinosaurs, and letting them fight. At first, it’s free to play. Key word: at first! But if you want to speed up production and get cooler beasts to fight to the death for you, then you gotta pay. You gotta pay Dino Bucks through an iTunes account. The 7-year-old made 65 transactions with Dino Bucks and was daddy Shugga was $5,900 in iTunes debt before he figured it out. Can you imagine Mohammad Shugga’s shock when he went to Apple, explaining what happened and requesting a refund? Can you imagine his reaction when Apple told him to monitor his child’s use of the iTunes account? I don’t know if Shugga got the refund or not.
But they’re several lessons to be learned here. Apple is right: parents should always monitor their kids’ computer activities as long as they’re minors, especially if they’re 7. I know it sounds big brother, but there’s no telling what perverts, predators,?and id thieves are lurking on the other side of that monitor. There’s no telling what they might be spending your money on either. Set ground rules with your children about computer safety and etiquette, and remind them why such rules are in place. Don’t be afraid to use your password and change your password if you find anything suspicious, even if it comes to your own child. If you do have to block your son/daughter from your account, tell them why. ?How did you think this father-son conversation went?