Boy runs up £900 Farmville debt

He also raided his own savings to drum up £288 to maintain his virtual farming empire on Farmville, a game that is played through the Facebook social networking site.


The youngster borrowed his mother's credit card to spend a further £625 on virtual coins and other goods to help increase his yield of moneymaking virtual crops.

A 12-year-old boy ran up more than £900 in debt when he stole his mother's credit card to make in-game purchases in Farmville

But his spending was quickly noticed by his mother, who noticed mysterious transactions on her account and cancelled her card. Facebook has terminated the youngster's account.

But the family has been told by Zynga, creator of Farmville, and Facebook, which hosts the game, that the money will not be refunded, because the youngster lives at the address to which the card is registered. Her credit card company said it would be able to refund the cash if she reported her son to the police.

"He would be cautioned and I have been told that this caution would stay with him," the mother told the Guardian. "Obviously, the idea of a stupid farm simulation jeopardising his future earnings is not something I want to consider."

Farmville has an estimated 80 million players worldwide, with around 30 million people logging on every day to tend to their virtual farms and nurture crops.