US Edition 
App complaints surge
Parents warned of ‘bill shock’ as children’s smartphone usage soars and ‘in-app purchases’ rise on phones and social networks.
New research from premium rate regulator PhonepayPlus revealed huge bills could also be racked up either by ‘malware’ in fake applications or by people failing to keep track of what they’re spending in legitimate programmes.
Complaints rose by 300 per cent in the last year as consumers discovered large phone bills caused by both the malware and unexpectedly costly purchases, often from children.
In one case, a counterfeit Android game billed £15 to the user each time it was opened.
Two-thirds of 11- to 16-year-olds download their own apps, and PhonepayPlus warned that parents could see bills of "hundreds or even thousands of pounds" as a result of these in-app purchases.
PhoepayPlus said that “naivety” from young people was often to blame and that it was causing concern among parents. Facebook is working with the regulator to try to make sure that any rogue offers are removed from its site as soon as possible.
The in-app purchase model, where initial downloads are usually free but developers make profits by persuading users to buy additional content, has become popular because many users are unwilling to pay for software up front. Angry Birds is one of those to have pioneered the approach, and it has also been targeted by software pirates who write programmes that appear very similar but then conceal extra purchases from users.
PhonepayPlus urged users to make sure that phones were registered with networks as a child’s phone if necessary, and that services were blocked as appropriate. They also asked parents to talk to children about not giving out their mobile number online because it could imply consent, as well as appropriate app use, and to make sure that they understood premium rate text messages, for instance, were not included in ‘unlimited texts’ packages.
PhonepayPlus' chief executive Paul Whiteing urged parents to be vigilant.
"Connected devices will define the age in which today's children live and we are determined to ensure that they can receive the benefits while being protected from the risks," he said.
"Smartphones in children's pockets can burn holes in parents' wallets, so we are working with partners across industry and other agencies to prevent this. This is a real challenge for parents and for us as a regulator," said Mr Whiteing.
The regulator said parents and young people should visit a website it has set up to educate users at phonebrain.org.