MARVELS OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY

14-month-old toddler buys car with a few clicks on dad’s smartphone

A PC Magazine reader thinks dad “is using his daughter as an excuse because he really wanted the car when he knew his wife would say no.” Seriously though, this is not the first time a young child has made an inadvertent purchase on a smartphone or computer.

TODDLER BUYS AUSTIN-HEALEY ON EBAY USING DAD’S SMARTPHONE
By Angela Moscaritolo

PC Magazine
July 11, 2013

The next time you let your toddler play with your smartphone, you better keep a close eye on him.

Take it from Oregon dad Paul Stoute, who is now the proud owner of a beat up 1962 Austin Healey Sprite after he left his phone unattended around his 14-month-old daughter, Sorella. According to local news reports, the toddler grabbed her dad's unlocked phone last month, opened up the eBay app, and started clicking around. She then managed to bid on the vintage car, and actually won!

Fortunately for her parents, the toddler managed to snag the car for just $225. Stoute didn't realize what happened until he opened up his email and saw a congratulatory message from eBay informing him he had won the auction. Initially, he was in a state of shock.

"Tap, tap, tap and now I own a car," Stoute told Fox 12 Oregon. "Fortunately, she didn't buy the $38,000 Porsche."

Before the incident, Stoute had been looking for cars on eBay, thinking he might take on a remodeling project with a friend. The Austin Healey might have been just what he was looking for. Listed in the eBay ad as a "Frankensprite," the car has two engines — both of which are in the back seat.

Stoute is planning to fix up the car, and hopes to give it to Sorella as a present for her 16th birthday or high school graduation.

Until then, the Stoute family is taking more precautions with their smartphones. They've password protected their devices, and uninstalled any apps that can be used to make a purchase.

"It cannot happen again," said Sorella's mother Christina Stoute.

As it turns out, Stoute's story is not so uncommon. Apple is set to refund some 23 million people involved in a 2011 class-action suit against the company over in-app purchases made by children. Apple found itself it hot water when a Pennsylvania man sued the company after his 9-year-old daughter racked up about $200 in in-app purchases while playing games like Zombie Café, Treasure Story, and City Story.