PUBG Mobile: Punjab Teen Reportedly Spends Rs. 2 Lakh From Grandfather’s Pension Account on In-App Purchases

A Mohali-based teenager has reportedly spent Rs. 2 lakh on the PUBG Mobile (PlayerUnknown's Battleground) game. This is the second case this month wherein a teenager has been reported to spend huge amounts of money on the game. The 15-year old boy is said to have used his grandfather's pension amount to make purchases in PUBG Mobile. Mohali is a small city based in Punjab, India. The lengths to which teenagers are resorting to level up in the game are testimony to the rising addiction of PUBG Mobile among youngsters.

Based on a new report in local daily Tribune India, the teenager only started playing the game in January. His uncle says that he was trained to make discreet payments through his grandfather's bank account by a school senior. In PUBG Mobile, you require something known as UC (Unknown Cash) to buy skins, crates, and other in-game items. UC can be bought through in-app purchases, a known feature within the game. To attain UC, the Mohali teenager made 30 payments in the past two months, the total of which comes to Rs. 55,000.

He reportedly used Paytm to buy UC credit, and an account on Paytm was made on his grandfather's name. He used his grandfather's documents to verify the account and process payments. The family only found out about this when they ran a routine check on the grandfather's bank account statement. The bank account was opened for pension deposits.

After questioning, the boy revealed that he spent more than Rs. 2 lakh on PUBG Mobile. A complaint has been sent by the boy's family against the senior who introduced him to these fraudulent tactics. They have reportedly sent an email to Mohali SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal alleging that the teenager was lured by the senior to indulge in this behaviour. The senior lives in Zirakpur, a small town in Mohali district. The teenager claims that some of the money has been given to the senior for purchasing UC.

Asserting on the level of addiction, the teenager's uncle says that he even bought a special SIM card just to play the game. “Earlier, when we used to find some cash missing from our wallets, we did not pay much heed to the boy,” the uncle told the publication.

Just a few days ago, a 17-year-old Punjab boy was reported to have spent Rs. 16 lakh on PUBG Mobile. He used his parent's bank accounts to make in-app purchases, and the family claims that the money spent was saved up for medical emergencies.

The Tencent Games' created battle royale mobile game has seen massive global revenue gain in the first half of this year, bringing its lifetime collection to $3 billion (roughly Rs. 22,457 crores), according to a recent report from Sensor Tower. PUBG Mobile, along with its Chinese variant known as Game For Peace, has collected a total of $1.3 billion (roughly Rs. 9,731 crores) in 2020 alone. This huge spur in numbers is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and enforced lockdowns in different parts of the world, forcing people to stay indoors. In March, PUBG Mobile hit a record high of $270 million (roughly Rs. 2,021 crores).

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