How to protect your wallet from rash game purchases of children: 10 tips for parents

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The impact of gadgets on children is a controversial topic. On the one hand, early acquaintance with technology helps to better assimilate information, on the other hand, an excessive love of games can hurt the family budget. We talked with Kaspersky Lab expert Maria Namestnikova about why this is happening and what parents should do to protect their children from the negative effects of games, and their wallets from incomprehensible expenses.

On the Web, stories often pop up about how a child spent hundreds or thousands of dollars making in-game purchases using a parent's card. There are many examples of this. So, in March 2015, the Internet spread the news about a boy who spent $ 4,500 on purchases in FIFA, which he played on xBox. In the fall of 2014, it became known about a teenager who spent $ 46,000 in the shareware game Game of War: Fire Age. In 2013, a five-year-old toddler managed to spend £ 1,700 on purchases at Zombies vs Ninjas in 10 minutes. Forums and blogs are full of injured parents who have lost less impressive amounts of money, such as $ 300-400. However, even this kind of money, given away without the parents' knowledge for virtual property, is a serious problem.

“Often the stories of children who spent large sums on games contain a mention that the child did not understand that he was spending real money. This is quite possible if the game does not require any confirmation codes to make a payment, and the purchase is made in one click. At the same time, in-game purchases are usually very attractive for a fragile psyche: they give noticeable advantages in the game (they accelerate development, make the character stronger, give hints on how to complete the level), says Maria Namestnikova. "Interestingly, many games with in-app purchases can be played for free or by paying only to install it, but children are usually impatient and curious, so asking them to learn how to beat a level or significantly boost a hero acts like a red rag on a bull."

Here are some tips from our expert to help parents protect their wallet from rash play purchases of children.

1. Explain to your child that in-app purchases spend real money … Even if you do not mind that the child makes such purchases, it is better to agree that he will turn to you for them. Do not limit yourself to a simple permission to download everything for free or spend no more than 500 rubles a month - often the child may not even understand what is spending your money.

2. If possible do not link your card to your account, on which the child plays, regardless of the device. This is the key rule. It can completely protect you from uncontrolled waste of money in games. But its observance is not always possible and convenient. If you fail to comply with this rule, be sure to follow all the others.

3. It is cheaper to buy a dozen of paid games without internal purchasesthan serving one free. Install games with your child, but it is better to choose those that do not contain in-house purchases, even if they cost a few dollars. Ten paid games with no in-game purchases will almost certainly cost you less than one free in-game spend game. Please note: Paid games do not always contain in-app purchases!

4. Use extreme caution in competitive play. In such games, there are always internal purchases, and they are in high demand: defeating another player is much more difficult than defeating a program. The opportunity to get an advantage for money looks extremely tempting even for an adult, let alone children and adolescents. Competitive games do not always involve depositing money to win, but there are also games that a child will not be able to play successfully without making in-game purchases.

5. Use special protective programs with parental control functions such as Kaspersky Safe Kids. Thus, you can restrict visits to sites that distribute pirated software, as well as prevent the child from starting games that are not intended for his age, and limit the time spent playing the game in general.

“Parents should remember that curious and restless children can play on any device, be it a computer, smartphone, tablet or set-top box. To protect your finances from unjustified waste, you should choose different protection strategies depending on the gadget your child uses,”notes Maria Namestnikova.

6. If the child is playing in "browsers" on PC, the easiest way to insure against internal purchases in such games is do not allow a child to access their credit card … Browser games, unlike tablet or phone games, do not have direct access to your financial data. Besides, be sure to use time control in parental control software, because browser games can drag out a child for a very long time, they are almost always “free” and full of opportunities to spend money in the process. This also includes games for social networks, which are often based on competition with other players. This kind of competition is the best motivation for spending money out of control.

7. Client games on the computer pose several other dangers. Firstly, the fact that they are almost always paid, makes the child tempted to find a way to download a pirated version of the game. And this is always a threat to the security of your computer. Second, free client games are usually MMOs, most of which involve in-house purchases to gain an edge over other players.

Use the following algorithm to solve such problems. Install comprehensive Internet Security level protectionsuch as Kaspersky Internet Security, which will keep your PC safe from malware and also provide parental controls to protect against in-game purchases. Also, install a special program for downloading games (Steam, Origins and so on). Start a separate account for yourself and a separate child … Do not link your card to your child's account. If you want to buy a game for your child, select the Buy as a Gift option in your account and donate the game, or use the FamilySharing feature to give a young player on the same computer selective access to games purchased on your account. And of course, keep your cards out of the reach of children.

8. Games for mobile devices often contain in-house purchases, even if they are not initially free. If the child has his own device, create separate accounts for him and do not tie your card to them, making all purchases as a gift through your own account. This should be enough to prevent the kid from making in-app purchases. If the child uses your gadget or knows your card details, enter additional restrictions. Both iOS and Android allow you to enable in-app purchase protection without the need for additional software.

9. Have iPhone and iPad you must activate the appropriate item in the menu "Settings" → "Basic settings" → "Restrictions" and enter your password. We also recommend using family sharing for Apple devices. The function will be convenient for parents if the child already has his own "apple" gadget. Using this method, parents must create a separate Apple ID for their child and enter it into the family group. All purchases by family members are made using the card of the family member who organized the group. Any purchases made by the child will be sent to the parent for approval. This applies to both paid and free apps and content.

10. V Android devices open Google Play and click the menu icon in the upper left corner. In the menu, you need to go to the settings, and then make the checkbox "Authentication on purchase". After choosing this item, come up with a password. As with Apple devices, it should be easy to remember and child-proof.

“Modern trends in the gaming industry dictate their own rules: games are increasingly free to install, but they contain the opportunity to spend real money while playing. Children in such conditions do not always understand that they are spending real money, and even if they do, the simplicity of writing off money from the parent's card is so tempting that the kids do not have to be persuaded for a long time. However, in this situation, the saying “Forewarned is forearmed” is relevant. Parents, knowing about the opportunity to spend money in the game, can save the family budget from such an accidental loss by not forbidding children to play their favorite games,”concludes Maria Namestnikova.