The child, who runs the Mighty Mike Plays channel, spent the equivalent of more than 3 mil millones de VND on platform promotions after watching his father configure a test advertising campaign.
How the Unauthorized Ad Spend Happened
The boy started creating content at age eight, broadcasting live streams from a PlayStation 5 with minimal editing. Seeking to attract more viewers to his channel, which had accumulated approximately 24,000 subscribers across more than 180 videos, he asked his father, Dave, for guidance.
Dave initially helped his son set up a test advertising campaign with a budget of roughly $20. During the setup process, the father walked him through audience targeting, budget definition, and campaign launch parameters. However, Dave had previously stored company credit card credentials in the payment history of the account for business purchases.
Because the payment details remained saved in the system, the child was able to complete subsequent transactions independently whenever he finished the campaign setup steps. Dave explained to financial managers that he understood that higher ad budgets yielded more video views, prompting the boy to launch numerous campaigns as the expenditures escalated.
Corporate Discovery and Family Response
The spending went unnoticed until the company’s finance department flagged the transactions. According to Yahoo News, Dave stated that he was stunned when the chief financial officer confronted him with the mounting advertising charges, which ultimately reached 118,000 dollars.
Dave publicly acknowledged responsibility for leaving the corporate payment method accessible and for failing to institute spending controls or parental monitoring on the device. Following the incident, the family announced plans to delete saved payment information, implement strict spending caps, and increase supervision of the child’s online activities.
On September 16, Dave and his son discussed the incident in a video uploaded to the Mighty Mike Plays channel, which quickly drew more than 2 million views. Dave expressed concern over potential financial liability and whether the massive debt recovery process would impact his employment status.