

My iTunes Account Was Hacked for $375 - By My Own Kids - hazmattron
http://gigaom.com/2010/07/07/my-itunes-account-was-hacked-for-375-by-my-own-kids/

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jmount
Mis-titled: correct summary is I got ripped off by a combination of an App
that was deceptive about in game currency and forgot to turn off in-App
purchasing (in fact still seem to have not done that).

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naner
Honestly, in-app purchasing should be off by default.

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tibbon
And/or don't buy your kid a $300 phone with a $100/month plan. Maybe this just
shows how 'old' I am at 27, but I didn't have a cellphone as a kid. In fact I
didn't have one until I was 19 and was paying for it myself. My parents didn't
have them, and they thought I was crazy for paying $35/month for a Sprint
plan.

But I did accumulate a set of 'hidden fees' when I was younger to my parent's
phone bill. I was within the monthly limit for our dialup provider, but we
were using a 'local long distance' number to dialup, which we were unaware of.
Large phone bill that month ensued and it wasn't a fun conversation then
either.

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cmelbye
The phone is $200. Adding an extra line to a FamilyTalk plan is $9.99/month
along with a $15/month data plan, bringing the monthly total to $24.99/month.
I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers, but they are grossly
exaggerated. Furthermore, the article doesn't say anywhere that the author
bought his step-child an iPhone.

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tibbon
True, it could be a touch or iPad. I'll give you that.

I remember looking at the plans when I first got my iPhone and there were no
company or family discounts at all. They must have changed that. My bill hits
around $100/month for my 3GS.

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keltex
It does mention iPhone specifically:

"It’s an aquarium on your iPhone that requires you to take care of your fish."

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protomyth
Since we got a whole board full of developers, the question is how do you
build this kind of app without getting yourself in trouble with consumers (and
I guess eventually after a lot of credit card reversals: Apple)? Or do you
just do ads or charge for the initial app?

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mistermann
On a side note, I wish apple would allow the option of greater locking down of
app deletions. My 16 month old daughter has a few apps on my phone she loves
playing, but she also often accidentally deletes some of my apps.

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qq66
Please limit her time on the phone, excessive viewing of screens at a young
age can expand one's field of view and cause dyslexia.

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mistermann
Can you link to any citations of this, I'm really curious.

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joejohnson
>> Consider using the iTunes Allowance system that places $10 to $50 in an
iTunes account on a monthly recurring basis.

Wow, those kids sound spoiled.

