Exactly how fast can someone rack up a $2,500 tab with a free App Store game? One five-year-old across the pond did it in a matter of minutes, with the unwitting help of his parents and their password.
BBC News reported Thursday that a five-year-old boy from Bristol managed to tear his way through £1,700 (roughly $2,554) worth of iTunes in-app purchases simply by playing a free game while his parents weren't paying attention.
The mere thought of such a nightmare is likely to send shivers down the spine of most parents, but in this case the mother claims to have been "a little bit distracted" when her husband handed their iPad over to their son, complete with iTunes password to download a free game. (The report doesn't say which one.)
"Sharon and Greg Kitchen did not realize what their son Danny had done until emails confirming the purchases came flooding in," the report noted, pointing out that Apple has parental controls in place for just such an issue, which weren't in use in this case.
Thankfully, Apple has agreed to refund the accidental purchases, and young Danny "won't be using the iPad again unsupervised for some time," added reporter Madeleine Ware.
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