12-Year-Old Boy Accidentally Spends His Mum’s Entire Month’s Salary On FC 25

A single mum-of-three has been left devastated after her 12-year-old son unknowingly spent thousands of pounds on FIFA 25, completely draining her bank account and forcing her into an overdraft.

Emma Harris, 38, from Manchester, had bought the game as a treat for her son Leo, never expecting it would wipe out her entire finances. Unbeknownst to him, her PlayStation account was still linked to her debit card, allowing him to purchase in-game points without any alerts or password requirements.

Emma was paid on January 10th, but over the next five days, her money was unknowingly drained by small in-game purchases. It wasn’t until January 15th, when she went to withdraw cash, that she realised her entire salary was gone—forcing her to take out an overdraft just to cover essential bills.

Speaking to Play Casino, Emma revealed how this financial disaster unfolded and why she believes gaming companies must do more to prevent children from unknowingly making in-game purchases.

“I Had Just Been Paid—Now I’m in Debt”

Emma, a full-time hospital administrator, had received her monthly wage on January 10th—including overtime she had taken on to cover Leo’s and Oliver’s upcoming birthdays.

“I went to withdraw some cash on the 15th and got a shock—insufficient funds. I knew I had been paid just five days earlier, so I thought it had to be a mistake,” Emma said.

Panicked, she checked her banking app and saw thousands of pounds had been taken by PlayStation, in small amounts over several days.

“When I rang my bank, they told me the transactions had been processed through PlayStation in hundreds of small payments. That’s when I realised it had to be from the FIFA game I bought for Leo.”

“He Had No Idea He Was Spending Real Money”

Leo, a massive football fan, had been playing FIFA 25 for hours, unknowingly racking up purchases.

“He thought he was just playing, moving players around and earning points—he had no idea every few clicks was draining my bank account,” Emma explained.

Since her card was already linked to the PlayStation account from a previous purchase, Leo never had to enter any details or approve payments.

“There were no pop-ups or warnings to say this was real money. It just let him keep going.”

By the time Emma noticed, every penny had been spent—including the last of her money on January 15th.

Forced Into Overdraft After Losing Entire Salary

Emma, who also has two other children—Mia, 14, and Oliver, 8—says the financial loss has left her struggling to cover basic expenses.

“I had no savings left, and with both boys’ birthdays coming up, I didn’t know how I was going to afford anything,” she said.

With no other option, Emma was forced to take out an overdraft just to cover rent and food.

Meanwhile, Leo has been devastated since discovering what happened.

“He won’t leave his room. He keeps saying he’s ruined everything. I’ve told him it’s not his fault, but he won’t even look at me.”

Sony and FIFA 25 Refuse to Refund

Desperate to recover her money, Emma contacted PlayStation’s customer service—but they refused to help.

“They just said it was my responsibility because my card was linked to the account,” she said.

She also contacted FIFA 25’s publisher, EA Sports, who told her that all in-game purchases are final and would not issue a refund.

According to Play Casino, cases like Emma’s highlight the growing problem of in-game microtransactions. While gaming companies claim parental controls are in place, many parents say these measures are ineffective.

“They said there were parental controls, but my son never saw any warnings or needed a password,” Emma argued.

A Warning to Other Parents

Now, Emma is warning other parents about the dangers of in-game purchases and urging them to remove payment details from their accounts.

“I had no idea a game could drain money this easily. I assumed there would be an approval step before any payments went through. It should never be this easy for a child to accidentally spend thousands.”

Experts at Play Casino recommend that parents disable in-app purchases, set spending limits, and ensure passwords are required for all transactions.

But for Emma, this advice has come too late.

“I don’t want another family to go through this. No game is worth this kind of stress.”