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Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
81–90 of 193 posts
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#82"Friendly fraud" is not a Facebook-invented term. It's a term used and understood by card issuers, acquirers, and merchants. Friendly fraud encompasses: - Dissatisfied customers who don't find refuge in a refund policy/process - Customers who are embarrassed by their purchases. This situation is commonly triggered when a significant other reads a credit card statement. - Customers who spend beyond their means, and th…
I don't think Facebook is accidentally misusing the term. They want to redirect sympathy from the cardholders to themselves by framing the situation as if it were just a case of "buyer's remorse", when really they've intentionally built the system to incur these mistaken charges.
Most probably Facebook didn't make the games themselves. And I thought one had to be at least 13 years to use Facebook, but probably some parents are allowed younger kids access.
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#831. Company is on the record as being aware of unauthorized use of parents' credit cards. 1a. Company is aware of channels particularly prone to unauthorized use of credit cards (with Ninja games being presented as the archetype). 2. Company creates a method for verifying the authority of purchase (and confirms that it works) 3. Company intentionally does not implement verification method, thus explicitly profiting fr…
The catch is FB requires that users be 13+, and someone younger than that using FB is a violation of their terms. Some if not most of these kids may be younger than that.
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think Facebook is accidentally misusing the term. They want to redirect sympathy from the cardholders to themselves by framing the situation as if it were just a case of "buyer's remorse", when really they've intentionally built the system to incur these mistaken charges.
Most probably Facebook didn't make the games themselves. And I thought one had to be at least 13 years to use Facebook, but probably some parents are allowed younger kids access.
Average age of angry bird user was 5 the article says
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#85The 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 used to think it wasn't nefarious unless your gameplay mechanics essentially coerce you to pay for in-game currency to progress or otherwise fully enjoy the game. But it seems like it's enough just to sell cosmetic enhancements, because kids will be just as caught up in that as they would be in actual gameplay progression.
All that said. It's your kid, your card and your money. Kids a mischievous, but the blame isn't entirely on games companies.
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#86The 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…
"They also found that the kids weren’t aware of what they were doing. “It doesn’t necessarily look like ‘real’ money to a minor,”
Seems a way to create the best consumer ever: someone who gets the benefits while having no connection with the costs. It may seem stretched, but I see some parallels with military drone pilots.
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
How much of this is the result of parents allowing children to play games unattended with games they themselves have not played to vet? With all things parenting, it ultimately falls on their shoulders on what they allow their kids to do. Not shilling for the slime balls preying on kids knowing parents are lazy, but parents are not blameless.
I vet all of my kid's games, but this particular pattern was not a deal-breaker for me. However, I've set my Google Play Store to require a password for each purchase. When my kid gets confused, he gets negative feedback in the form of a frustrating dead-end. Hopefully that'll help learning.
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Legislation is stuck at the money-in-money-out mechanic.
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#89Earlier 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…
honestly I think gambling could be a good thing for a child if they use money they've worked hard for themselves. sooner or later they will suffer a bad loss and have no new toys for a while. maybe give them some "margin" too to really get the point home.
Re: Facebook Let Kids Rack Up Charges on Parents' Credit Cards
#90The 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…
I'm not sure which class at business school is teaching everyone that "If you can get away with it do it! Have zero shame!" because it's probably time to remove that one from the Harvard curriculum.
No, no, no. This isn't taught in college. It's taught in Elementary School when students learn about the world leaders and take two seconds to discover their actual backgrounds and where their power and wealth truly came from. It's learned while watching movies like Wolf of Wall Street where the beautiful protagonist fucks everybody else, living a lavish and perceivable happy lifestyle, before getting "caught" and suffering virtually zero consequences for his or her actions.
Then, after being learned at an early age, it is reinforced time and time again in the stories of entrepreneurs who make billions immorally and similarly suffer zero consequences.