The unsuspecting Indian-origin man from Wolverhampton in West Midlands got mad when he got a shocking $1,500 credit card bill but that emotion turned to shock and chagrin when he realised he had only himself to blame for the mile-high bill!

Turns out that Sam Anupam Ghera had allowed his school going son, Nikhil register his credit card details to cover the £5.99 monthly subscription fee so he could play X-Box Live with classmates. Only, he did not know that the card details were stored in the machine and his son was able to buy ‘Microsoft Points’ — an online currency that allows players to unlock new features — without having to enter a password.

Which meant that even though Nikhil thought that he was using up game points every time he clicked to improve his characters while playing games including Fifa and Call of Duty, what he was actually doing was purchasing online currency!

Shocked with the bill and with the ease with which kids can get into trouble themselves and get their parents into trouble, if they are given unrestricted use of technology, Sam is now busy trying to educate other parents about the dangers of this.

When he is not busy trying to figure out how he is going to fill up the hole in his wallet, that is.

prashant.vadgaonkar@hotmail.com