When my 11 year old grandson is visiting he plays Roblox and Mario Brothers on my computer. He is quite skilled and writes/edits games. He shows me how to edit the timeline and add sound, effects, etc. So every now and then I get a spam email from one Roblox site or another. I guess because he is on my computer and maybe my Google name shows up or something although he logs into these sites with his own name and passwords.
Yesterday I was paying my Citi credit card bill. I don’t use it too much and always pay the balance each month. The only account I have that uses autopay on the credit card is my Boost cell phone bill. I noticed that there were two small charges. One for $3.23 and another for $7.55. Looking at the digital invoice I can see each is from a gaming site. So grandkid downloaded something that had a cost associated with it. But I got billed for them.
The $7.55 charge is from Apple.com and the buyer is listed as my grandson’s account.
The $3.23 charge is from RobTopGames and the item purchased is “Geometry Dash, a Google Play App”. No buyer’s name listed.
My full name is listed as the cardholder. My card number, expiration date and that 3 digit number must be saved on my computer somewhere? How in the hell did did they get billed to my Citi credit card? What should I do - request a new card number?
But, even without knowing that, most modern operating systems will store your CC information if you let them. They will auto-fill that, although there is usually a password or fingerprint confirmation required.
Rather than the OS as such, I suspect this is your browser storing your credentials. Chrome certainly does that, BUT not unless you’ve okayed that at some previous transaction.
The other alternative is he snuck your card out of your wallet to take a peek and used it to buy some games because his parents wouldn’t let him and he hoped you would ignore the charges.
Were the purchase dates on days your grandson was visiting you?
Also, you were billed for a Google Play app and an iOS App Store app (I assume the Apple purchase was the iOS App Store and not the Mac App Store, anyway).
So does your grandson have both Android and iOS devices? That’s not impossible that he uses both, but it does raise the red flag a little bit. If he doesn’t have both (especially if the purchases didn’t happen when he was using your computer), something may be up.
edit to add -
actually, I don’t think you can make iOS app purchases from a Windows computer (or any non-M series Mac). So are you sure it was an app? Was there any more detail than Apple and his account?
First off have a thorough conversation with grandkid. At 11 he knows, or should know not to spend others money.
Then change your card numbers and do not auto-fill cards on your computer or phone.
Browsers will also let you view that info (and review your settings). For Chrome, it’s accessed by clicking the three-dot icon → Settings → Autofill and Passwords → Payment Method. There, the stored payment methods are shown, and you can choose whether to use autofill for them.
It sounds to me like you were letting him log in using your account. You should set up a different user account for him, then he will not have access to your saved payment methods. You can also put safeguards on his account to keep him from accessing porn, which you should seriously consider when talking about an 11 year old boy because this could introduce you to all sorts of nasty spyware. Much worst than an inadvertent purchase from the boy.
This is great info, and it’s probably exactly what happened to the OP. I have my cards saved into Chrome, but I have it set so that I have to enter the CVV each time before the payment is verified. I have it memorized, but my grandkids don’t. (Hopefully)
I also have Microsoft Edge and only use it for my wife’s accounts. Grandson also uses it sometimes. But in the settings there is a place to store passwords and payment information. The only passwords listed are for my wife. The payment section uses Microsoft Wallet which I never used. So that’s not it.
Grandson’s tablet and phone are Apple products. I went to the apple.com URL to try and buy the same app to see how it goes. The site said I needed to update my OS to run that app. But I eventually got to a checkout screen. Nothing was filled in. The other app was from RobTopGames and it was also an Apple app. So this might have been downloaded using his tablet which makes the whole thing more odd unless as some have suggested, the yout got my actual card. I keep my wallet on my desk although that credit card is kinda buried and hard to see. The MasterCard debit car I use for online purchases is right up front. They are on vacation in Florida until next week so I’ll gather information and call him when he gets home.
I should mention that he is as clever as a beaver at a buffet. He is slightly autistic and kind of a savant when it comes to computers and numbers. Kid can rattle off every thing in the solar system in order of radius. There are a LOT of things I never heard of. Dozens of them.
He loves Roblox and can tell you the entire history of who first wrote it, all the contributors and version numbers. He knows every “glitch” in Super Mario Brothers. “Look at this one, Grandpa, glitch 456. Mario is blue instead of red!” I try to fool him by asking about some random glitch number. “There is no glitch 203.” He delights in learning my logon password. He can stand way behind me and off to the and read my keystrokes. “Grandpa - you changed it again!”
I’d again suggest you look to see when the purchase was made and if that is a date he was at your house. If it was, I think that’s a good indicator he stole your card info.
Even if it was a different day, the fact that the purchases were listed as being made by his account still suggests he stole your card info.
Or you gave him the info at some point and just don’t remember. That happens.
Gosh, how could anyone possibly suspect the little dickens?
