10-Year-Old Phone Gamer Secretly Siphons S$1,700 From Mum’s Account To Purchase Character ‘Skins’

Boy Spends 3-Months Worth Of Mother’s Pay On 60 In-Game ‘Skins’

‘Skins’ are a great way to customise in-game characters so gamers do not get jaded about their appearances.

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But these in-game cosmetic items can cause its share of problems, as you’ll soon see.

According to China Press, one 10-year-old handphone gamer from China reportedly siphoned over S$1,700 (RMB 9,000) from his mother’s account all so he could buy ‘skins’ on his favourite mobile game.

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Mother finds S$1,700 missing from bank account

The 10-year-old boy, from Jiangsu Province, is a fan of King of Glory (王者荣耀) — a popular handphone game in China with over 100 million users.

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On 27 Oct, his mother, Ms Wang (not her real name), was at an ATM withdrawing cash when she found that her bank balance was lower than expected.

After printing her bank statement, Ms Wang discovered that funds have been taken out from her account on a daily basis between 10-24 Oct, reports China Press.

Ms Wang was completely unaware of these transactions.

These transactions ranged from a few Yuan to thousands of Yuan, and apparently totalled S$1,700 (RMB 9,000) — equivalent to 3 months of her pay.

After some investigation, Ms Wang was livid when she learnt his son had allegedly been using money from her account to fund his in-game ‘skin’ purchases.

10-year-old boy bought 60 character skins in 10 days

According to China Press, the 10-year-old boy played King of Glory on his mother’s handphone every day after school.

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Having memorised his mother’s WeChat payment password from a previous purchase, he, over a period of 10 days, bought 60 in-game skins using his mother’s hard-earned money.

These ‘skins’ range from S$9.26 (48 Yuan) to S$38.58 (200 Yuan).

Ms Wang has reportedly reached out to the gaming company but has not been refunded as of the time of this article. The company claims it will respond to her within 3 working days.

Hope Ms Wang gets refunded for her son’s purchases

Let’s hope Ms Wang receives a full refund from the company for her son’s reckless expenditure.

This incident also highlights the need for parents to be more aware of what their kids are up to. Because while gaming companies have a part to play in preventing such careless spendings, it is ultimately parents who are responsible for their child’s actions.

Featured image adapted from Twenty20 and YouTube.