Mum's horror after son, 12, accidentally spends her month's salary on Fifa 25

Emma Harris, 38, from Manchester, had bought the game as a treat for her son Leo, never expecting it would wipe out her entire finances.

Unbeknownst to him, her PlayStation account was still linked to her debit card, allowing him to purchase in-game points without any alerts or password requirements.

Emma was paid on January 10th, but over the next five days, her money was unknowingly drained by small in-game purchases.

It wasn’t until January 15th, when she went to withdraw cash, that she realised her entire salary was gone—forcing her to take out an overdraft just to cover essential bills.

Speaking to Play Casino, Emma revealed how this financial disaster unfolded and why she believes gaming companies must do more to prevent children from unknowingly making in-game purchases.

Emma, a full-time hospital administrator, had received her January monthly wage including overtime she had taken on to cover Leo’s and Oliver’s upcoming birthdays.

She said: “I went to withdraw some cash on the 15th and got a shock—insufficient funds.

“I knew I had been paid just five days earlier, so I thought it had to be a mistake.”

Panicked, she checked her banking app and saw thousands of pounds had been taken by PlayStation, in small amounts over several days.

She added: “When I rang my bank, they told me the transactions had been processed through PlayStation in hundreds of small payments. That’s when I realised it had to be from the FIFA game I bought for Leo.

“He thought he was just playing, moving players around and earning points—he had no idea every few clicks was draining my bank account.”

Leo, a massive football fan, had been playing FIFA 25 for hours, unknowingly racking up purchases.

Since her card was already linked to the PlayStation account from a previous purchase, Leo never had to enter any details or approve payments.

With no other option, Emma was forced to take out an overdraft just to cover rent and food.

Meanwhile, Leo has been devastated since discovering what happened.

Emma said: “He won’t leave his room. He keeps saying he’s ruined everything. I’ve told him it’s not his fault, but he won’t even look at me.”

Desperate to recover her money, Emma contacted PlayStation’s customer service—but they refused to help.

She also contacted FIFA 25’s publisher, EA Sports, who told her that all in-game purchases are final and would not issue a refund.

According to Play Casino, cases like Emma’s highlight the growing problem of in-game microtransactions. While gaming companies claim parental controls are in place, many parents say these measures are ineffective.

Now, Emma is warning other parents about the dangers of in-game purchases and urging them to remove payment details from their accounts.

Experts at Play Casino recommend that parents disable in-app purchases, set spending limits, and ensure passwords are required for all transactions.