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Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

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Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#62

The issue is Facebook denying refund requests after children were suckered in to make large in-game payments using their parents' stored credit cards. It's not just that this whole scenario is slimy. It's that Facebook was fully aware of it, had a nice in-house term for it ("friendly fraud"), and not only chose not to approve refunds but also chose not to implement the most basic measures to prevent it. [edit: as a c…

> “It doesn’t necessarily look like ‘real’ money to a minor,” This is intentional. In many games, some things cost "gold" earned by playing the game, and others cost "gems" bought with real money. Or maybe "gold" is the one that costs real money. It's designed to be confusing and hide the distinction between in-game points and real money. At some point the game companies should bear some of the responsibility for dec…

I have seen cartoonish green notes as in-game currency, parallel to gold, but much more scarce and can be bought with real money.

Kids don't stand a chance.

Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At some point the game companies should bear some of the responsibility for deceiving children. I hope a reckoning is coming in this regard. Many games include mechanics that are hard to distinguish from video slot machines and should be regulated the same way gambling is (rated 18+, audited for "fairness").

Unlikely. Society shifted and gambling is stigma free. My son is old enough that arcades are interesting to him now. I was pretty shocked to see how they have declined into shitty skinner boxes and games of chance to win tickets. That was always a factor, but is much more prominent today. The casual acceptance of sports betting is another example of that shift. There’s probably some free marketeer who will opine that…

I wouldn't exactly call it stigma free to let (much less encourage) kids gamble. There's a difference between acceptance, and anything goes.

Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#64
> But the company had discovered that more than 9 percent of the money it made from children was being clawed back by the credit card companies.

> In comparison, the average chargeback rate for businesses is 0.5 percent, according to the Merchant Risk Council, a nonprofit that helps businesses manage risk.

> A chargeback rate of 1 percent is considered high, and credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard will put businesses on probation programs for rates consistently that high.

> The Federal Trade Commission said in an unrelated fraud case in 2016 that a 2 percent chargeback rate was a “red flag” of a “deceptive” business.

Nine percent chargeback rate. That's just absolutely nuts.

Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At some point the game companies should bear some of the responsibility for deceiving children. I hope a reckoning is coming in this regard. Many games include mechanics that are hard to distinguish from video slot machines and should be regulated the same way gambling is (rated 18+, audited for "fairness").

When I followed the Valve game CS:GO a few years ago, I was pretty disgusted by the gambling done in that game. It made up an insane % of players, many of them children, who would bet weapon skins on third party websites based on ESports games. Valve shut those third party sites down but continued to market different kinds of skins such as gloves, music, etc. I wonder how much money moved to and away minors during th…

I believe it was Belgium that banned unboxing as a form of gambling, leading to it being disabled across Valve games, afaik.

Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#67
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlikely. Society shifted and gambling is stigma free. My son is old enough that arcades are interesting to him now. I was pretty shocked to see how they have declined into shitty skinner boxes and games of chance to win tickets. That was always a factor, but is much more prominent today. The casual acceptance of sports betting is another example of that shift. There’s probably some free marketeer who will opine that…

I wouldn't exactly call it stigma free to let (much less encourage) kids gamble. There's a difference between acceptance, and anything goes.

Well, i went to the local arcade with my 9 year old last weekend. It is fully licensed, has games where you drop a ball (at a cost of about 2 bucks) to win tickets ranging in value from 10 to 500 points and redeem them for prizes like candy and video game themed toys.

I'd say that's stigma-free.

Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#68
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, that's an earlier story from the same site announcing that the documents are expected to be released, whereas this link is about what the released documents actually revealed. They are related links, but not quite the same.

Ok, we'll de-dupe it.

With all due respect, I think his was plainly obvious to someone who even glanced at the submitted story, and shouldn't have had to been explained to mods.

Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#69
post #50
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Dissatisfied customers who don't find refuge in a refund policy/process It's dangerous to label such things as fraud. Chargebacks are a consumer protection mechanism of last resort as well as a remedy for unauthorized charges. If a merchant doesn't deliver what they promised and doesn't issue the appropriate refund, the merchant is the one engaging in fraud.

Chargebacks are a mechanism that can definitely be abused and in those cases would be fraud. I don't see that as dangerous at all. Heck, in posts on these forums people brag about using chargebacks to cancel services because they didn't want to call or follow the guidelines set by the merchant to cancel an account. Whether they're in the right or not that's most certainly bordering abuse of the system.

Chargeback fraud is a large issue in the US and not enough is being done by card issuers because it is the consumers who make money for card issuers by spending. There is incentive to please them, as all costs get passed to merchants.

Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards

#70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At some point the game companies should bear some of the responsibility for deceiving children. I hope a reckoning is coming in this regard. Many games include mechanics that are hard to distinguish from video slot machines and should be regulated the same way gambling is (rated 18+, audited for "fairness").

Unlikely. Society shifted and gambling is stigma free. My son is old enough that arcades are interesting to him now. I was pretty shocked to see how they have declined into shitty skinner boxes and games of chance to win tickets. That was always a factor, but is much more prominent today. The casual acceptance of sports betting is another example of that shift. There’s probably some free marketeer who will opine that…

Well sports betting has been around forever, but dark patterns and intentional deception in mobile games leads to children being manipulated. Not consenting adults, CHILDREN.

https://humanetech.com/

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