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A 13-year-old girl in China wiped out her family's life savings equivalent to $64k on mobile game transactions without their parents' knowledge.
According to Elephant News–a local TV channel in the Henan province, Gong Yiwang was contacted by her daughter's boarding school teacher who was concerned about the young student's addiction to pay-to-play mobile games.
Yiwang immediately checked her bank account and was dismayed to discover it only had a balance of seven cents.
It turns out from January to May, her daughter spent the account's balance on game accounts and in-game purchases.
\u201cA teen in China drained her family\u2019s life savings on video games, buying $64,000 worth of mobile games and add-ons.\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
Yiwang told the media outlet:
"I never thought a 13-year-old girl could do this."
"I'm in a daze; my head feels like it's going to explode."
The minds of some Twitter users were also blown while others found the inclination to spend money on video games relatable.
\u201c@DailyLoud 64k on mobile games \ud83d\ude29. They need help, pay to advance or win gaming can be worst than drugs. It\u2019s the sense of instant gratification \ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8\ud83d\ude0d. I\u2019ve definitely spent a few racks on gaming not 60k tho.\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
\u201c@DailyLoud I once did the same stupid thing, topping up about $300 a day for six months\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
\u201c@DailyLoud LOL! My little brother did this with Fortnite \ud83e\udd23\ud83d\ude02\ud83e\udd23\ud83d\ude02\ud83e\udd23\ud83d\ude02\u2620\ufe0f\u2620\ufe0f\u2620\ufe0f\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
\u201c@DailyLoud She's just like us frfr\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
\u201c@DailyLoud One of us\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
\u201c@DailyLoud My daughter racked up $1,200 on Roblox - only once though we both learned our lesson\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
The teenager admitted to Elephant News she had linked her mother's debit card to her phone and remembered the account password from when her mother gave her the information so she could purchase something.
The daughter said she had no idea how much she was spending.
\u201c@DailyLoud That\u2019s a lesson to be learned. Your kids should never have access to your bank accounts!\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
\u201c@DailyLoud @Chisomnwagbaraa They need to bring back ass whooping. How do you burn your entire family\u2019s savings on games?\u201d— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1686203451
Her classmates also bullied her into giving them money after noticing her spending habits.
The daughter said:
"If I didn't send it to them, they would bother me all day."
"If I told the teacher, I was afraid that the teacher would tell my parents and that my parents would be angry."
To keep the transactions secret, she also deleted the chat and transaction history from her phone.
Yiwang said she reached out to several payment platforms requesting refunds but has yet to recoup the total losses.
The viral news was an indication of a huge gaming addiction problem prevalent among the youth in China. In response, the government has banned children from playing video games for more than three hours a week since August 2021.