Fifa 18 coins

As a teenager, we have all likely run up a bill for our parents of some form or another. For myself, it was the internet back in the days of ‘dial-up pay-as-you-go’. At 13 years old, having a £80 phone bill come through which was pretty much entirely my own internet usage was a bit stomach turning. The worst part was that of that £80, £60 was probably spent just waiting for things to download. Fortunately, after making me stew on it for a suitable period, my parents decided to forgive me.

A boy in Ireland, however, has found himself likely in a lot more trouble than I was. In a report via Metro, in his pursuit of the ultimate online team, he completely drained his mother’s bank account which just happened to be linked to his PS4. This wouldn’t be the first instance of alarming draining issues we have seen recently either!

The perils of letting your children play online

This is, by no means, the first time we’ve heard a story of a child running up a horrific bill on in-game transactions. The fact, however, that he drained her entire bank account does highlight the need for parents to be more vigilant.

Although the women in question didn’t want to be named she did, at the very least, want to issue a warning to other parents: “This was my first Christmas working full time and then to go to your bank account and find it empty with the whole month’s pay and overtime in the buildup to Christmas just gone is horrendous. I had to take my son out of school after speaking to the bank so that he could go home and take everything offline as money was still going out of my account. He is so upset he is staying in bed. [He] is withdrawn and is blaming himself. He reckoned he has spoiled Christmas for his family. I can’t even get him to school.”

The report comes not long after the discussion over in-game currencies and gambling was raised in the UK parliament.

While I do of course sympathise, I do also think that parents should be vigilant about their children’s activity online. Fortunately, my little one isn’t old enough to care about getting Ronaldo in Fifa Ultimate team (yet). When he does start caring about things like that, my bank card is going to be exceptionally well hidden.

What do you think? An innocent mistake or should in-game currencies be banned? – Let us know in the comments!