How did this app get on my DD's phone at £27.99 a week!

[ilovewelshrarebit123]

I got an email saying I was going to be charged £27.99 a week for an app on my DD (11) iPhone.

My payment details are connected via family sharing but she doesn't know the password. The app wasn't showing as an icon on her phone and the only place I could find anything to do with it was in subscriptions.

It said it was bought yesterday so I've been able to cancel it with no charge as it was a free 3 day trial before the charge.

I've sat down with DD and asked her to tell me the truth, that I wasn't cross or upset with her but I needed to know if it was her. She is adamant it wasn't her, I believe her as she would have cried if she had done it. It's also an app that is of no interest to an 11 year old. She also has no clue what the password is.

I've spoken to Apple and they said some 'free' apps can do automatic subscriptions, but it wasn't showing as an icon on her phone and again, she doesn't know the password.

So any ideas on what's happened or is she telling lies? I've removed my payment details so no harm done but still curious.

Think you may have fallen for a scam email op. I get loads of these, telling me I've subscribed to expensive apps, did it address you or the account holder, did it appear in your apps in Apple Store and did you check the sender by hovering over the senders name? If you clicked on a link you may have compromised your account security. (Apologies if you know all this) I'd be checking my bank details and hoick ing up my security.

It's definitely not a scam email, I've called Apple and they confirmed it's a genuine email.

Have you googled the app to see if anyone else has had this problem? Might need to report to the app store.

Have you charged your phone since the app was downloaded?

Yes her phone has been charged?

Is she playing other games that give free "diamonds" or free in-game money for watching adds and subsequently opening app pages and and downloading apps?

Is it charged against her phone number (and this would appear on phone bill)?or against the Apple ID?

I got something similar to this last month although wasn’t an app. I was on a local news website and there were lots of pop ups which I thought I’d clicked off but somehow I must have accidentally clicked something which made me sign up to a £9.99 service which was going to charge me £9.99 every week through my phone provider. I was really reluctant to text stop but it did stop the subscription in the end. I was very annoyed as I’m usually so careful!

As other posters have said, have you googled it and seen if anyone else is having issues? There is a way on apple to stop subscriptions but can’t remember how to get into it.

What app was it?

Yes what app was it? Is it a subscription to a magazine or something?

I keep getting these emails through telling me I’ve purchased this at £x a month.

I know I haven’t, so I’m 100% certain they are a scam and I’ve refused to click any links in them.

However since you’ve confirmed it with apple it might not be.

Was it a genuine apple number, or did you ring the number that came on the email itself? That could be a scam number

I clicked on something by accident on my phone and got automatically signed up to pay X amount a week billed to my phone... Didn't realise until the phone bill came though! Now cancelled. It's scammy.

@Soubriquet

If you are ever concerned about the validity of the email, then just find a number via Google and call that one. Or log into the account on a different browser window in the way you normally would and check it out there.
If it's true, it will be reflected on your account online, no need to click any links in an email.

If you search for the app on the App Store and it has a wee cloud with a down arrow someone on your account has downloaded it. If it says Get no one has downloaded it and it’s a scam email. Oh but do check to see if there is a free version and perhaps they have upgraded to a Pro version and taken the subscription