Study Says Lots Of Kids Are Making Sneaky Purchases Online With Parents' Cookied Credit Card Info

from the cookies-are-for-kids dept

Fri, Nov 14th 2008 1:32pm — Mike Masnick

Plenty of online shopping sites let customers store their credit card info to make it easier to purchase stuff in the future. And, for most home users, that is a convenient feature -- as it seems unlikely that a third party would access your computer and use your credit cards to order stuff. Except, apparently, a lot of parents forget about their kids being able to do that. A study in the UK found that plenty of kids were buying stuff online without their parents' knowledge or approval, using the stored credit card info on certain web shopping sites. Of course, if parents checked over their credit card statements regularly (or received the packages when delivered), you would think they would notice such activity.

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Filed Under: credit cards, kids, purchases

25 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 14 Nov 2008 @ 1:40pm

Parents: Be responsible for you and your children and leave the rest of the world out of it. If they failed to secure their info and allowed their children access then they deserve what they get. Open your eyes and learn life's lesson or shut up and die in a fire!
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Xanthir, FCD, 14 Nov 2008 @ 1:42pm

Or
Just beat the shit out of your kid the first time you see this happen. That's stealing. If they don't know that it's wrong, you have failed.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Nov 2008 @ 2:13pm

Easiest Solution ... ?
Multiple logons to PC. Parents and Kids

Parents password protect their logon
Children don't get a password

This allows parents to save all their CC info online without worrying about their kids getting it (or the porn sites dad likes to visit) and parents can get into the kids acount and set filters, check browsing history, or anything else they feel like doing
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some old guy, 14 Nov 2008 @ 2:21pm

emailed order acknowledgements?
um, every store I order from sends an automated email the second I place an order to the email address on file.

So this isn't really a problem at all, now is it?

Smells like FUD to me.
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Fatherof2, 14 Nov 2008 @ 2:31pm

Sneaky Purchases
Children are going to try and get away with what they can. my wife and i allowed our children to have a credit card for gas and emergency purchases only when they obtained their drivers license at 16. We check our credit card statements monthly and questioned any purchase done without our knowledge whether it's a kid or bank/vendor error. My oldest is 20, in college and we have never had an issue with him making purchases without our consent. My youngest turned 18 this summer and just had his credit card taken away last week because he spent money without our knowledge or consent. Both kids are terrific and have always been very honest but we don't take that for granted and hold them accountable for their actions.

What has happened to parents who actually parent?? These sound like the same type of parents who allow their 10 year old to watch horror and R rated movies and then can't understand why they are scared all the time. They let them listen to explicit lyrics and can't understand why they cuss like a sailor. They let their teenage daughters date and don't check up on the kid, family or where they are going and wonder why they are pregnant.

How about making some commons sense decisions for your children. We can't expect children to parent themselves!
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Nov 2008 @ 2:33pm

Re: emailed order acknowledgements?
99% of what pass for legislation is the result of nothing but FUD. The uneducated masses rule the US. Which is why many of the founding fathers wanted a more aristocratic approach.

In hindsight I'd say they did the right thing, they just didn't emphasis the whole debate aspect of the Senate/House of Representatives. The whole point to the Senate was to do nothing but debate over the laws. Instead you get jackasses who vote yes on proposition X because their party says so or their church says so rather than stepping back and think what would be best for the country as a whole.

Worse still, some of these yahoos think that they ARE thinking about what would be best for the country as a whole by doing so!
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Charles (profile), 14 Nov 2008 @ 2:40pm

Nah...
This won't happen to good asian kids... I've used my mom's card for many music exams online, yet I have never used it to buy something secretly...
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Earl, 14 Nov 2008 @ 2:47pm

Re: Re: emailed order acknowledgements?
Uhh.... the story clearly indicates that the study came out of the UK, not the USA. Did you really read this before posting?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Nov 2008 @ 3:24pm

Re: Sneaky Purchases
Fatherof2 -

I agree with you completely. From when I started driving until I was stable with a good credit record, my parents provided me with a credit card for emergencies. I did not have to pre-justify use of it, but I did have to pay it off if it wasn't something they would have paid for anyways. I never abused it (despite constant pressure from peers to just charge a few pizzas for "the game") and I think it taught me good money management skills as I still only have one credit card in my name, and generally maintain a $0 balance on it.
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Larry, 14 Nov 2008 @ 3:53pm

hmmm
Any parent that allows their children or anyone else to use the computer with their login deserves whatever happens.

My kids and wife each have their own login and I never leave the PC unlocked while logged in.

They have all been taught not to allow anyone to use their login and to always log off when finished.
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Adam, 14 Nov 2008 @ 5:12pm

Re: Easiest Solution ... ?
LOL, don't forget that most of the time the kids are more savvy than their parents:))

A.
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some old guy, 14 Nov 2008 @ 5:16pm

@Earl
I am writing this in the UK you bloody fuck
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It's Not Really Secure Is It, 14 Nov 2008 @ 6:03pm

Very Bad Idea
One should never allow the storage of login credentials on their or others machines.
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some old guy, 14 Nov 2008 @ 6:48pm

Re: hmmm
Let me guess... you're an entry level tech support grunt?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Nov 2008 @ 7:59pm

Re: Re: hmmm
"Let me guess... you're an entry level tech support grunt?"

Why do you think that ?

Sounds more like an anal retentive helicopter parent.
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Derek Currie (profile), 14 Nov 2008 @ 11:20pm

Cookies with credit card numbers? I don't think so.
Cookies NEVER have any credit card information. Instead the credit card data is stored in the user's account on the server of the website.

Cookies identify the user and store information about their use of the website. They're marketing tools.

Conclusion 1: A cookie will trigger a website to recognize a user. It does not supply credit card data.

Conclusion 2: Hey parents! Set up individual password protected USER ACCOUNTS on your computer! That's basic computing security. Then you don't have to worry about the kids. Oh, and don't forget to set up the kids' accounts so they have no permission to change their password. That way you won't get locked out and can keep track of their net behavior.
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Ryan, 14 Nov 2008 @ 11:23pm

Lack of responsability
When I was younger, I didnt get anything for nothing, as most kids today do. This is why they feel like its okay to steal from their parents. I just turned 17 and I have a job, a bank account, a debt card to my name, and plenty of my own money that I worked for. I never took (or was offered) a red dime.
For some reason, my younger siblings ended up differently. They sit around all day and do nothing. This is the issue with todays society. Its hard to define what is the cause of this, but if life doesnt get really tough for everybody real soon, no one will be able to think for themselves.

sigh
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neil, 15 Nov 2008 @ 11:32am

I dont see how this is a big deal, if the parents don't like it then there are lots of solutions for them. I just hope they don't start suing the companies involved for allowing unathorized use of their credit card info.
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JimH, 16 Nov 2008 @ 4:03am

Re: emailed order acknowledgements?
@ some old guy

If the parents saved credit cards on websites, and presumably passwords in their cookies, there is also a good chance that they cache/save the passwords for their email accounts. The kid could just simply place the order, wait a few minutes, and delete the email.
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toyotabedzrock, 16 Nov 2008 @ 6:49am

Re: emailed order acknowledgements?
Except that if you store your credit card online then its a safe bet your email password is stored in your browser...

And it doesn't help to look at the bill much since some stores online use a third party to process the payment.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Nov 2008 @ 8:16am

Re: Or
Good point.
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Anonamoose, 16 Nov 2008 @ 9:11am

Self righteous parents should be executed. Everyone is going to parent differently with different results. Being strict with one kid may work well, while being too strict with another kid will drive them away. You can be the "best" parent by installing security cameras in your kids bedroom, tapping their phone, and installing a microchip in them at birth so you always know where they are. Then one day the kid succumbs to peer pressure and decided to steal a pack of bubble gum. OMGorz the parents must be hung! Gimme a break.

Even the way people talk about parents should know to password protect their account. Thats like saying you need to keep your cash in a safe in your own house, or you should know better than to leave a few hundred bucks lying on your bedroom dresser. Unless your kids a drug addict there's no reason you should have to hide all your valuables in your own house from your own kids! Sheesh.
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pete, 14 Feb 2009 @ 7:06pm

re:
This won't happen to good asian kids... I've used my mom's card for many music exams online, yet I have never used it to buy something secretly...
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The Cow Level, 29 Sep 2009 @ 4:11pm

Cow Level
I am 15 and am pissed that my parents are computer-illiterate and I cant order stuff online because of that. I have a paypal account, my own bank account. I'm just worried that if I order something that my parents will get the package.
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garry08 (profile), 22 Oct 2009 @ 3:08am

.kids...
Parents should be more attentive with their children. They should be disciplined and so we are. Credit cards are a landed aristocracy of consumer credit, and are given first tier status; a pedigree that is at this point – let's be honest – dangerous to lend credence to and undeserved. A growing number of studies are starting to show evidence that payday loans are better than credit cards, at least in some ways. The reason why is that payday loans lenders stay competitive because they have to be – because unlike the credit cards industry, they can't buy Congressmen.
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