7-Year-Old Charges Over US$5,000 Playing on Dad's Tablet

When a dad in the United Kingdom tried to buy supplies for a store he owns, he was shocked to discover that £4000 (approximately US$5,800) had been charged to his account over a 5-day period. The culprit was his 7-year-old son.

Mohamed Shugaa told the Metro newspaper that he couldn't believe it when he learned that his son Faisall had been playing "Jurassic World" on his iPad and had memorized his Apple ID password. His son racked up the charges over the week by using in-game currency Dino Bucks without realizing they cost real money.

After reporting the issue to his bank's fraud department, he was angry to learn that 65 transactions were made to Apple and the company did not notify him.

"I was so mad. I'm 32 years old—why would Apple think I would be spending thousands of pounds on buying dinosaurs and upgrading a game?" Shugaa told the newspaper.

When he contacted Apple Support to request a refund, a spokesperson told him there is no guarantee he would get his money back, citing Apple's policy posted on its website.

"Our parents' guide to iTunes details the steps adults can take to make sure younger players have access to the right content. The first thing we recommend is not to share your password," Apple says on its website.

Despite the posted warning, Apple issued Shugaa a refund for the charges but Shugaa still believes this fiasco could have been avoided.

"Why didn't they email me to check I knew these payments were being made? I got nothing from them. How much longer would it have gone on for?" he asked.