A grandmother’s $2,000 surprise. A stolen credit card. A virtual wardrobe full of Roblox accessories.
It’s a scenario that’s becoming all too familiar — and Consumer Reports says parents and grandparents can take steps to prevent it.
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Lynne Ramsbottom’s grandson loves playing on Roblox. Although the platform itself is free, he used his grandmother’s credit card to spend $2,000 on virtual clothing, accessories and in-game upgrades.
“Instant panic! How am I going to pay for this? How am I going to fix this?” Ramsbottom said.
Stories like hers are growing more common as games make it increasingly easy for children and teens to spend money without realizing they’re making a purchase.
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“What can be confusing for kids is that it doesn’t always look like they’re spending real money. They’re buying in-game upgrades, or Roblox, or Gems, or coins, or any of that type of thing,” said Consumer Reports expert Nicholas de Leon. “That extra step can make it difficult to make the connection that they’re making actual real charges to their parents’ or grandparents’ accounts.”
So what can parents and grandparents do?
Consumer Reports experts say parental controls give adults more oversight of a child’s online activity. But setting them up requires some initiative.
“Games like Roblox do offer parental controls that can limit how much children can spend in a game. But generally speaking, parents do have to set those up on their own,” de Leon said. “And because purchases can happen through the game, the app store, a phone, a tablet, there can be more than one layer of protection that parents need to enable.”
Setting up controls is easier than you think
The good news: It only takes a few minutes.
- Apple devices: Parents can use Family Sharing to set limits on apps, websites, downloads and purchases.
- Android devices and Chromebooks: Google’s Family Link offers similar controls.
- Windows computers and Xbox consoles: Microsoft Family Safety provides parental control tools across both platforms.
Parental controls work best when layered together — combining device settings, app settings and, perhaps most importantly, ongoing conversations with kids about online safety.