Boy's Cookie Run ‘hack’ fails, mom billed for THB200,000

[dinger]

They should wipe the bill and put in place a system where the consumer is protected,

Fair enough the boy done the wrong thing but he's only 12 and now you've got a mother who is most likely on computer savvy and a farmer slugged with a bill which is nearly impossible for her to pay.

He is only 12?

If everyone customers came and pretend innocent, what is AIS (or DTAC or True) going to do?

Give all a free ride.

The boy knowingly tried to hack the system, which is a crime by itself.

Should he be charged for that cyber crime?

You are insensitive This is a 12 your old kid. that has no idea and the app company should pay much closer attention Who in their right mind spends 200,000 in micro payments for anything on the Internet. The Phone company can in fact charge the app company back and all is not harmed That is in the initial agreement when they contract So get off you so called Moral Hi Horse

Being insensitive, you have to be kidding. He is only 12 yet he had the ability to illegally use a glitch as it has been called, for his own benefit, so apparently he isn't all that inocent so you can't have it both ways. Just once I would like to hear some parent say don't worry when I get finished with his bottom he won't be able to sit down for a week. Oh wait that would be child endangerment, strike that last comment.

[RigPig]

They should wipe the bill and put in place a system where the consumer is protected,

Fair enough the boy done the wrong thing but he's only 12 and now you've got a mother who is most likely on computer savvy and a farmer slugged with a bill which is nearly impossible for her to pay.

He is only 12?

If everyone customers came and pretend innocent, what is AIS (or DTAC or True) going to do?

Give all a free ride.

The boy knowingly tried to hack the system, which is a crime by itself.

Should he be charged for that cyber crime?

AIS beef is with the boy, not the mom.

NO it was her phone, she is responsible for it. If you loan someone your car and they have an accident and they are underage, no license who's fault is it? Do we all cry "he was only 12", he knew what he was doing was wrong, it cost someone money.

Aren't you supposed to be over 18 to have a Line account?

[Yann55]

It started in the US around the 1960s.... some big corporations started realizing how enormous the kid market was, and how much easier it was to lure them into buying stuff, shape their taste, create new needs in their cute little heads. So the marketing wizards set their teams of psychologists, designers, sociologists and financiers in motion.

Since those early days the art of manipulating kids into buying expensive, short-lived and stupid products has only grown in efficiency, size, accuracy and remorseless amorality. Everyone in the line is just 'doing is job' and making stacks of cash but no one is accountable for the disaster at the end of the line.

I can only hope the mother will somehow be given a break, and the only way that can happen is if the story goes viral... because the big companies are above all sensitive to 'bad press' and that would be a good way of catching these corporate b*stards at their own game.

[Frank James]

AIS and/or "Line" would generate a lot of good will and positive valuable publicity for themselves if they publicly laughed this off and let it go.

The kid rates a trip to the shed, but I hear people don't do that anymore. It worked for us, but that was then.

[bigbamboo]

Let's hope a generous Thai entrepeneur, like a Red Bull inheritor coughs up to pay the red bill.

'A generous Thai entrepreneur'....?

Nope, couldn't even find that on Google.

[luudee]

Happened to me a couple of years ago when my daughters where very

young. They charged a few bucks through my Google account. I simply

wrote a polite email to the company making the game and they where

very happy to refund the funds ...

I'd be surprised the makes on this game wouldn't do the same if

made aware of the situation ...

luudee

[dinger]

It started in the US around the 1960s.... some big corporations started realizing how enormous the kid market was, and how much easier it was to lure them into buying stuff, shape their taste, create new needs in their cute little heads. So the marketing wizards set their teams of psychologists, designers, sociologists and financiers in motion.

Since those early days the art of manipulating kids into buying expensive, short-lived and stupid products has only grown in efficiency, size, accuracy and remorseless amorality. Everyone in the line is just 'doing is job' and making stacks of cash but no one is accountable for the disaster at the end of the line.

I can only hope the mother will somehow be given a break, and the only way that can happen is if the story goes viral... because the big companies are above all sensitive to 'bad press' and that would be a good way of catching these corporate b*stards at their own game.

Started before that, remember breakfast cereals. Same thing pretty soon kids were screaming if they didn't get their favorite, even though it cost 3 times as much

[Yann55]

It started in the US around the 1960s.... some big corporations started realizing how enormous the kid market was, and how much easier it was to lure them into buying stuff, shape their taste, create new needs in their cute little heads. So the marketing wizards set their teams of psychologists, designers, sociologists and financiers in motion.

Since those early days the art of manipulating kids into buying expensive, short-lived and stupid products has only grown in efficiency, size, accuracy and remorseless amorality. Everyone in the line is just 'doing is job' and making stacks of cash but no one is accountable for the disaster at the end of the line.

I can only hope the mother will somehow be given a break, and the only way that can happen is if the story goes viral... because the big companies are above all sensitive to 'bad press' and that would be a good way of catching these corporate b*stards at their own game.

Started before that, remember breakfast cereals. Same thing pretty soon kids were screaming if they didn't get their favorite, even though it cost 3 times as much

You're right about that, dinger. What i'm saying is that it blossomed exponentially in the 1960s.

[skippybangkok]

cookie run?, She should tell them to go and jog on !

.

She could but then AIS would cut off her phone and most likely take legal action. Better the course she is following now, lots of publicity to shame AIS into doing the right thing.

Credit limits are limits. Intended to protect company and customer. AIS has no excuse

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[Local Drunk]

They should wipe the bill and put in place a system where the consumer is protected,

Fair enough the boy done the wrong thing but he's only 12 and now you've got a mother who is most likely on computer savvy and a farmer slugged with a bill which is nearly impossible for her to pay.

I dont often agree with you but now I do. Thete should be some protections in place. This is just crazy, however if protection is available but not switched on I blame the consumer too.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

He isn't responsible for the bill, his mother is. Pay-up woman or send your 12 year old son to work in the brothels or fishing trawlers until your debt is paid off with 30% interest compounded weekly... unless you can pay it now with an insurance policy on your life.

[wabothai]

Like in the old days.... punishment by cleaning up streets for a few years.

12 years old, no excuse, otherwise the brads will never learn.

[Local Drunk]

This has happened quite a lot in Australia. The govt and regulatory authorities stepped in and forced these manipulative sleazebags to be completely transparent about the costs of "upgrading" in the games. The owners of the games and their agents should be the ones facing prison

I'll agree with you to the point of sleaze bags except that the kid did indeed hack the game. Doesn't that make the kid a bit of a sleaze bag?

[Andre0720]

"Amporn said AIS agreed to let her pay by installment, but the farmer insisted she cannot afford it."

Once again a Thai parent refuses to take any responsibility for her child's action. What he attempted to do was illegal and in other countries he would have been arrested and charged as a juvenile for attempting to hack into a business' system. He is 12 years-old and should know right from wrong by this age. Due to the fact that he is a minor, his parents are responsible for his illegal actions. It would not have cost her a single baht to supervise her son, know what he was doing, and teach him how to be responsible for his actions. Of course, this being Thailand, male children can do whatever they please and parents do not interfere.

Not only should she be made to pay the bill, but she should be charged interest on the unpaid amount. This would send a message to parents that their parental responsibility does not end with the birth of their children.

I am more of the opinion that ANY GAME attractive to kids, and that can end up costing such an amount of user fees,

Should not be available online to anyone...

And should it be only telephone usage fees, the phone Co. should install some programs that would raise red flags...

[capcc76]

Don't give children unfettered or unsupervised access to cell phones.

[dinger]

It started in the US around the 1960s.... some big corporations started realizing how enormous the kid market was, and how much easier it was to lure them into buying stuff, shape their taste, create new needs in their cute little heads. So the marketing wizards set their teams of psychologists, designers, sociologists and financiers in motion.

Since those early days the art of manipulating kids into buying expensive, short-lived and stupid products has only grown in efficiency, size, accuracy and remorseless amorality. Everyone in the line is just 'doing is job' and making stacks of cash but no one is accountable for the disaster at the end of the line.

I can only hope the mother will somehow be given a break, and the only way that can happen is if the story goes viral... because the big companies are above all sensitive to 'bad press' and that would be a good way of catching these corporate b*stards at their own game.

Started before that, remember breakfast cereals. Same thing pretty soon kids were screaming if they didn't get their favorite, even though it cost 3 times as much

You're right about that, dinger. What i'm saying is that it blossomed exponentially in the 1960s.

I hear what you are saying, the manufacturers were smart, start when the kids are young and you get them hooked for life

[kingstonkid]

cookie run?, She should tell them to go and jog on !

.

She could but then AIS would cut off her phone and most likely take legal action. Better the course she is following now, lots of publicity to shame AIS into doing the right thing.

As a hobby i worked in a call center for one of the then top companies doing corporate calls. Before you start talking about how this happened and right or wrong. This is a huge probelm and has been ever since sms came into existence.

Ihad a guy screaming and calling one the reps a stupid bitch he was so mad.

She gave me the phone and before he could say anything i asked if he had a daughter adn gave her a phone.

Yes i do and what the F does that have to do with it?

One minute please sir.

Will you look at pages 25- 35 of your phone bill.

The daughter in a 2 week period had run up 300 dollars in sms. and 200 in ringtones

We set him up on a plan to pay it back and also set his daughter up with a separate account that had a limit on the bill.

You got it the following week she called in complaining ehr phone was shut off.

Note on file go talk to your father sorry we can not help/

You are right the best thing to do is set up payments remember for what it is worth this messes with the credit score big time.

[DrTuner]

Never give kids post-paid SIM cards.

[arcturaz]

Unconscionably immoral corporate rapaciousness ( yes in my fury I'm desperately grasping for superlatives.....). Seems the basTURDs at AIS are attempting to turn civil infractions into criminal ones, the responsibility lies with the (humourously called) Authorities and their collusion with the Tokyo money boys, setting up a system where transgression is inevitable and then slapping everyday joe and jane with the bill...simply odious...

[skippybangkok]

Seems a lot of posters are not familiar with the word "credit limit".

Let's see who is willing to have a 5 Baht credit card and be fully liable - no thanks.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited June 23, 2014 by skippybangkok

[arcturaz]

There are clear social responsibilities the exceed the moronic concept of, credit limits for minors,

[wolf5370]

Unconscionably immoral corporate rapaciousness ( yes in my fury I'm desperately grasping for superlatives.....). Seems the basTURDs at AIS are attempting to turn civil infractions into criminal ones, the responsibility lies with the (humourously called) Authorities and their collusion with the Tokyo money boys, setting up a system where transgression is inevitable and then slapping everyday joe and jane with the bill...simply odious...

The kid admits he tried to use an exploit to steal game upgrades - as far as I am aware, theft has always been criminal and not civil. The mother must have signed the kid up for and adult account to allow him to purchase - she should have given him a pre paid SIM with a fixed limit. Easy to blame the vendor for not protecting the users from themselves, but is it really their responsibility?

[bonobo]

My 9-year-old niece got online with my phone one day and ran up about 3,000 baht on Cookie Run and another $80 on Angry Birds. I contacted both companies. The American company that own Angry Birds immediately issued a refund. Line, on the other hand, gave me this convoluted process, that for each charge (of about 60 baht), I make a separate copy of each charge on my credit card, marry that with a separate letter explaining that the niece (she was not my niece at the time yet) was a minor, attach a copy of her ID, and another piece of paper about which I forgot what it was now, scan all four documents, then e-mail it to them so they could decide whether a refund was due. This for about 50 separate transactions. I asked if they were serious, and I received no reply.

I instead contacted my credit card company, and they replied to me that they would take care of the situation.

[TrueOrNothing]

They should wipe the bill and put in place a system where the consumer is protected,

Fair enough the boy done the wrong thing but he's only 12 and now you've got a mother who is most likely on computer savvy and a farmer slugged with a bill which is nearly impossible for her to pay.

He is only 12?

If everyone customers came and pretend innocent, what is AIS (or DTAC or True) going to do?

Give all a free ride.

The boy knowingly tried to hack the system, which is a crime by itself.

Should he be charged for that cyber crime?

Agree.

The boy is only 12 years old, but he has enough savvy to understand the foundamentals of deception and theft and hacking is a form of theft.

When parents give their children access to IT goods and computers than they must bear the responsibilities as to how their children use those devices, claiming ignorance is no defence under the laws.

The Internet has a well publicised dark side and all parents should be aware of this.

Trying to "hack" the game was done under influence of the same dopamine the game released in his brain, it was part of the game.

There is no theft when nothing is missing nowhere... Thieves are those who want you believe it to fill their pockets with the work of others... or ask 200k or more to play a game for kids no matter what it implies...

Music I play and words I say are free for everybody to listen, learn and inspire from (I learned listening others), as well words and source code I write are free for everybody to use, learn from (I learned reading words and source code from others) or inspire from.

I still "own" it all, nothing is missing nowhere.

Edited June 23, 2014 by TrueOrNothing

[neverdie]

Certainly a lot more traps for a young fella to fall into these days.

I remember playin with the telephone as a young boy, spinning the handle round and round, 'Hello Operator, Hello Operator' I taunted her, not realising that she knew exactly which house was placing the call and not smart enough to realise only a dozen of us had the phone on. My father took to me with my favourite stick, the one I use to run through the bush with, pretending to kill the Japanese intruders with.

Ahhh the good old days, now these kids have got all this technology to contend with.

[wandasloan]

Agreed ... the software-company ought to have a duty, to check at some point that the person running-up such a large bill is a responsible adult, not just a child. After all, they're the ones extending credit !

What can AIS do ... cut her phone off ?

That should be the end of the matter !

Actually not. The software company is not doing the billing, AIS is. The software company runs this game internationally, and has no idea what bills are being wracked up or paid on the spot. When you play a game on AIS (or other providers) ONE way you can buy your credits is by charging it to your phone account. The software company has no part in this. If AIS approves the purchase of the credits, it goes on the phone bill. That is, it's a transaction between the phone owner and AIS. (Later, AIS pays Line.)

AIS considers this child's case a loophole. It has marked the account "paid" and is installing account monitoring for these games.

.

Edited June 23, 2014 by wandasloan

[wolf5370]

They should wipe the bill and put in place a system where the consumer is protected,

Fair enough the boy done the wrong thing but he's only 12 and now you've got a mother who is most likely on computer savvy and a farmer slugged with a bill which is nearly impossible for her to pay.

He is only 12?

If everyone customers came and pretend innocent, what is AIS (or DTAC or True) going to do?

Give all a free ride.

The boy knowingly tried to hack the system, which is a crime by itself.

Should he be charged for that cyber crime?

Agree.

The boy is only 12 years old, but he has enough savvy to understand the foundamentals of deception and theft and hacking is a form of theft.

When parents give their children access to IT goods and computers than they must bear the responsibilities as to how their children use those devices, claiming ignorance is no defence under the laws.

The Internet has a well publicised dark side and all parents should be aware of this.

Trying to "hack" the game was done under influence of the same dopamine the game released in his brain, it was part of the game.

There is no theft when nothing is missing nowhere... Thieves are those who want you believe it to fill their pockets with the work of others... or ask 200k or more to play a game for kids no matter what it implies...

Music I play and words I say are free for everybody to listen, learn and inspire from (I learned listening others), as well words and source code I write are free for everybody to use, learn from (I learned reading words and source code from others) or inspire from.

I still "own" it all, nothing is missing nowhere.

Sorry, rubbish. Theft is taking something that you have no right to take (right by: paying for it, being gifted it, or whatever). It matters not a jot if the person has no physical loss - indeed they do, the loss of earnings if people are allowed to take at will without recompense or recourse. This is not new, and it is not subject to just intellectual rights. If you take a taxi and do not pay, the driver has not lost a piece of his taxi, he has lost potential income. If you use any service and do not pay for it, then the same thing applies. Why should developers not be allowed an income or the same protection as any other person or business?

Edited June 23, 2014 by wolf5370

[wolf5370]

They should wipe the bill and put in place a system where the consumer is protected,

Fair enough the boy done the wrong thing but he's only 12 and now you've got a mother who is most likely on computer savvy and a farmer slugged with a bill which is nearly impossible for her to pay.

He is only 12?

If everyone customers came and pretend innocent, what is AIS (or DTAC or True) going to do?

Give all a free ride.

The boy knowingly tried to hack the system, which is a crime by itself.

Should he be charged for that cyber crime?

Agree.

The boy is only 12 years old, but he has enough savvy to understand the foundamentals of deception and theft and hacking is a form of theft.

When parents give their children access to IT goods and computers than they must bear the responsibilities as to how their children use those devices, claiming ignorance is no defence under the laws.

The Internet has a well publicised dark side and all parents should be aware of this.

Trying to "hack" the game was done under influence of the same dopamine the game released in his brain, it was part of the game.

There is no theft when nothing is missing nowhere... Thieves are those who want you believe it to fill their pockets with the work of others... or ask 200k or more to play a game for kids no matter what it implies...

Music I play and words I say are free for everybody to listen, learn and inspire from (I learned listening others), as well words and source code I write are free for everybody to use, learn from (I learned reading words and source code from others) or inspire from.

I still "own" it all, nothing is missing nowhere.

"Trying to "hack" the game was done under influence of the same dopamine the game released in his brain, it was part of the game" - no, he had to research it on YouTube first (as per the report) - this was premeditated.

[KamalaRider]

"Amporn said AIS agreed to let her pay by installment, but the farmer insisted she cannot afford it."

Once again a Thai parent refuses to take any responsibility for her child's action. What he attempted to do was illegal and in other countries he would have been arrested and charged as a juvenile for attempting to hack into a business' system. He is 12 years-old and should know right from wrong by this age. Due to the fact that he is a minor, his parents are responsible for his illegal actions. It would not have cost her a single baht to supervise her son, know what he was doing, and teach him how to be responsible for his actions. Of course, this being Thailand, male children can do whatever they please and parents do not interfere.

Not only should she be made to pay the bill, but she should be charged interest on the unpaid amount. This would send a message to parents that their parental responsibility does not end with the birth of their children.

The hack wasn't in their servers, it's codes that makes you have a "backdoor" to get more feautures. This isn't applicable to the law as it's the game producers that knowingly has this.

[tonypace02]

Any hope that this woman can avoid payment simply by ignoring the bill and changing carriers is ludicrous. She is a farmer. She owns property. Either AIS or Line Corp could easily litigate for 200,000 THB worth of farm land.

[hanno]

"Amporn said AIS agreed to let her pay by installment, but the farmer insisted she cannot afford it."

What he attempted to do was illegal and in other countries he would have been arrested and charged as a juvenile for attempting to hack into a business' system. He is 12 years-old and should know right from wrong by this age.

'What other countries? Saudi Arabia? The US?