9-year-old runs up US$118,000 YouTube ads bill on dad's card
A 9-year-old YouTuber spent US$118,000 on YouTube ads using his father's company credit card.
Mike, who runs the channel Mighty Mike Plays, used the saved card to pay for promotion on his Minecraft and Roblox gameplay videos. His father, David Sarkisyan, who works in marketing, explained what happened in a video titled 'Mighty Mike Plays is Over' posted on the channel, Video Games Chronicle reported.
The trouble started with Robux, the in-game currency used in Roblox. Sarkisyan had used his company card to buy Robux for his son and left the card details saved on the account. He then organised a small paid campaign, costing about US$20, to drive views to one of Mike's videos. A paid ad campaign on YouTube puts a video in front of other viewers for a fee.
Sarkisyan did not remove the card after that US$20 test. Mike then used the saved details to buy further, far larger campaigns himself. The charges added up to US$118,000 over about three weeks, Tom's Hardware reported.
Mike believed spending more money would bring more views, India Today reported. His response in the video was blunt. "I'm definitely cooked," he said.
What makes this stand out is how ordinary each step was. A parent buys game currency. A small US$20 promotion is tested. Payment details stay saved. The behaviour behind the clicks is easy for any family to recognise, only the bill is not.
