Boy’s Cookie Run 'hack' fails, mom billed for THB200,000
By Coconuts Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- Amporn Chumcheundee’s was a little surprised by her regular phone bill when it arrived last Tuesday. Instead of a few hundred baht, AIS sent the 48-year-old farmer from Suphan Buri province a three page bill totaling THB203,477.06.

Turned out her 12-year-old son, who uses the phone, admitted to unknowingly buying items to advance in the national pastime of Cookie Run.

Just about everything in the bill involved not-so-small microtransactions payable to Japan’s Line Corp., maker of the popular chat app and game.

Amporn’s son claimed he followed instructions from a YouTube video how to “hack” the game for free items and did not think the carrier would charge his mother.

Apparently the “hack” didn’t work.

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

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2014/06/23/boys-cookie-run-hack-fails-mom-billed-thb200000


-- Coconuts Bangkok 2014-06-23

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.

Quite amazed their credit control system did not shut it off..... Looks like AIS has a serious issue with their billing system

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

He must be really far in that game by now , he can try sell his account , get some of tge money back

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.

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 !

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

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?

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

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?

"Should he be charged for that cyber crime?" He's a 12 year old minor.

AIS billing system clearly has issues. 1) should not have sent out bill until deep investigation ( this is abnormal bill ) 2) credit contol should have locked off the SIM if hit credit limit

Would advise customer their liability is the agreed credit limit

AIS further screwed things asking customer to pay - LOL

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

"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.

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

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.

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 !

Not in Thailand, here, by law, debtors go to prison

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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.

Well it is Thailand.....putting the bill in the junk and buy a prepaid DTAC card will do the trick.....I doubt AIS will be possible to get any money.

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?

What crime? He is playing a game. No damage done.

AIS billing system clearly has issues. 1) should not have sent out bill until deep investigation ( this is abnormal bill ) 2) credit contol should have locked off the SIM if hit credit limit

Would advise customer their liability is the agreed credit limit

AIS further screwed things asking customer to pay - LOL

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

On my DTAC card is a limit of 2000 Baht per month.

That is peace of mind for me: Something wrong with the phone and it pushes the Gigabytes.....

My phone got stolen and the thief calls his grandmother in Nigeria with my SIM

I get addicted to cookie run and want to pay all my salary for cookies...

everything max 2000 Baht

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

Maybe they will also accept rice.

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.

Conditions of the AIS agreement state that a customer cannot spend more than 1000baht per transaction but there is no limit to the number of transitions This means the kid did this more than 200 times, and the parents knew nothing about it, give me a break.

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.

"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 guess you would give the okay to leaving loaded guns laying around too...

The real crime here is that it is even possible to pay so much money into a stupid game! Is that how much it costs to get a 'rewarding' experience? The graphics must be amazing as it costs more than PS4 games!!!!

Get a life, no company should be allowed to rip consumers off, if you want to spend that type of money then you should have to increase your limit - not the other way around.

The EU is finally reining in their bloated mobile operators - looks like some attention should be paid to this scam, maybe under the latest gambling crackdown as it essentially achieves the same purpose.

AIS billing system clearly has issues. 1) should not have sent out bill until deep investigation ( this is abnormal bill ) 2) credit contol should have locked off the SIM if hit credit limit

Would advise customer their liability is the agreed credit limit

AIS further screwed things asking customer to pay - LOL

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

On my DTAC card is a limit of 2000 Baht per month.

That is peace of mind for me: Something wrong with the phone and it pushes the Gigabytes.....

My phone got stolen and the thief calls his grandmother in Nigeria with my SIM

I get addicted to cookie run and want to pay all my salary for cookies...

everything max 2000 Baht

Why Nigeria, pray tell?

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.

Sorry... But <deleted>. Someone who has a ie 800 bill per month should never have a 200,000 baht credit rating.

Consumer protection bureau would be interested in this

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

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.

But she was not being a responsible parent insofar as she was not controlling what the kid was doing.

Yes there should be a system in place to prevent such an event but not knowing what your kid is doing is a dereliction of her parental responsibilities.

If this kid goes on this way he will by the time he is 15-16 be an absolute little ar$ehole and running loose not attending school, raping, drinking, fighting etc.

It is not AIS per se, it is the Japanese software company (Line Corp.).

It is not simply that he was on the phone too long, or anything that AIS could have foreknown. The game, like many these days, sells things in the game, things like extra lives and special abilities etc, each of these are chargeable under micro-transactions. They can add up very quickly. Line would have charged through AIS and AIS just passed the charge along.

The fault is really with people's expectations these days - game makers spend months writing a game and because of Google Play/Apple Store/Windows Phone Store/etc, can not get any money for it - people want everything for free - so the developers put in in-game purchases in to a free game - play for free, or make it better by buying. The ethos of wanting something for nothing has pushed the market into this dangerous and often annoying scenario.

One only has to peruse the comments of any of these mobile stores - games for $1.99 (that took a team of people 6 months work to make) - have people awarding one star from five with the comment - why is this not free. I am not talking about rubbish games that no one would want, but games with tens or hundreds of thousands of downloads - still half the comments are people wanting it for free. What other industry in the world spends six months hard work ( these Indie guys spend 12 hours 6 or 7 days a week getting their stuff written and tested ) and give it away for nothing?

Lets face it, if a company did that, how quickly would other vendors jump on them in court - look at Microsoft being sued over and over for giving away Internet Explorer, a simple Video Editor, Windows Media, even Paint - companies that sold these items for their livelihood were practically put out of business over night when XP was released with all those goodies.

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?

What crime? He is playing a game. No damage done.

Hacking is a crime.

This was a bit expensive hacking.

I guess this young boy also got a "runs" by his mother.

I feel with this family cause this bill is a huge for them.

Why do people give there kids a phone with unlimited credit? Never heard about prepay?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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.

Sorry... But <deleted>. Someone who has a ie 800 bill per month should never have a 200,000 baht credit rating.

Consumer protection bureau would be interested in this

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

Probably but it would stupid in the extreme just to say I'm not paying. Generate publicity, get public sympathy and shame AIS into doing the right thing.

Is there any consumer protection organisation/govt department in Thailand? If so then, yes, they should be involved.

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.

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 !

Not in Thailand, here, by law, debtors go to prison

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Maybe for some debts, not sure, but even if the case in this case what good would it do anyone, AIS would still not get their money as the lady would be in prison and who would take care of the boy if she is not married etc? I think if prison is considered then the court should ask her all her income/outgoings and decide what she can pay monthly and defer prison if she keeps to the payments and once paid off cancel the order and any prison time. AIS if interest is charged should only be minimal if the lady is in a difficult financial position. I am amazed that if her bill is only a few hundred Baht she had such a high credit limit, or if prison deters most people then maybe there is no credit limit. Us foreigners in most cases know little about Thailand. One thing for sure I do know after reading this is that I will never have a post paid mobile account, pre paid is so easy especially if you keep a spare top up at home.