Boy, 12, spends £900 on virtual farm

A 12-year-old boy has spent more than £900 developing his virtual farm on Facebook game FarmVille.

He spent £625 on his mother's credit card and £288 of his own savings on the game, reports The Guardian.

FarmVille, one of the most popular games on Facebook, allows members to manage a virtual farm by planting, growing and harvesting crops, trees and livestock.

New users are given virtual coins to set up their farm, and the revenue from crops can be used to maintain it. But those desperate to progress can buy extra coins using real cash.

The mother contacted her credit card company, HSBC, but was told she would only qualify for a refund if she reported her son to the police and obtained a crime number.

"He would be cautioned and I have been told that this caution would stay with him. Obviously the idea of a stupid farm simulation jeopardising his future earnings is not something that I want to consider," she said.

She added that her son was "very shocked" when confronted with the amount he had spent, but it was clear he knew what he was doing.

"When I asked him why he did it he said that they had brought out 'good stuff that I wanted'."

She does not blame Facebook, Zynga or HSBC, saying that her son was the one using the card and is entirely at fault.

But she added: "I do think they need to shoulder some responsibility in this business and put systems in place to stop this happening again. "

A spokeswoman for HSBC said that had the credit card been used on a gambling site it would have started alarm bells ringing for "unusual usage".