Allowing young children to play games early and easily access smart devices like smartphones and iPads is becoming increasingly common in modern society. On the positive side, early exposure to high technology can help children easily adapt to new and useful applications in life. However, this also comes with numerous issues, the most notable of which in recent times is the lack of control over spending, especially among young gamers. A prime example of this is a recent incident that has been buzzing in the online community, involving a 12-year-old boy.
The main character in this story is Xiaoxiang, a 12-year-old boy from Gongyi City, Henan Province. During one outing with his grandfather, the clever boy accidentally caught a glimpse of and memorized his grandfather’s password. Instead of forgetting it like many other playful children, Xiaoxiang used his memory to do something quite unforgettable. That is, he went on a shopping spree, spending money online.
Xiaoxiang’s grandfather’s pension, valued at about 230,000 yuan (approximately nearly 850 million VND), was converted by the boy into countless items. In total, he bought 61 items, including expensive tech gadgets like laptops, Apple Watches, Huawei VR glasses, game consoles… It seems he still had some sense as he did not spend all the money and left 5 yuan (approximately nearly 20,000 VND) in the account for his grandfather’s snacks.
Initially, Xiaoxiang’s family was quite surprised to see the items continuously delivered to their home. They thought they were being taken care of by some wealthy individual. It wasn’t until the boy’s grandfather was shocked to discover that the account only had enough money for a cup of coffee that the situation unraveled, revealing the “wealthy individual” was actually Xiaoxiang. According to initial investigations, the items purchased by this young gamer were acquired while watching an online streamer selling products.
Currently, Xiaoxiang’s family is contacting brands to request refunds. However, getting back the full amount seems to be quite difficult.