SeekingSimplicity Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 My dd had a gmail account for the last 2 years. Last time she tried to get on it, it says she's not old enough and unless we change her birthdate the acct will be deleted in 30 days. I was going to change the date to make her old enough, but it's asking for either a credit card # that will be charged $30 or you can click on a form to fax a copy of a gov issued ID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 That is spam danger danger danger do not reply! http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=8253 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 I was afraid of that, and am not going to send any info. But, if it's spam how do I get rid of it? I've double checked the URL and every time I log in that's where it takes me. When I click on learn more this is where it takes me http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1333913&rd=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Try another browser and see if the same thing comes up? Try another computer and see if the same thing comes up? http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=50270 This will take you to a page about your account being compromised. It sounds to me like this is your problem, since it sounds like it's a problem with your account and not just a suspicious email. GMail is free, no charges whatsoever. So this is fraudulent. I didn't click on the link you posted, because I don't trust it not to be a phishing link itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I went to the site and I'm not finding any mailing information nor fax information. I'm not comfortable with it at all. Is she able to just start over with a new account? It's only asking for a thirty cent cc card to be restored in minutes, but I'd only even try that with a prepaid cc from a drug store or something if you happen to have one around, but not one attached to a bank. No way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 According to my husband, who works for Google, this is real. US law requires special rules for any information associated with children under 13, so Google doesn't have a lot of choice in the matter. This is cropping up a lot recently because of Google+, which requires people to give a birthdate to sign up. The thirty cent charge is basically "yes I have a credit card that works" and proves that there's an adult controlling the account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Jen can you ask why there is no mailing instructions or fax instructions on that page? That has me really puzzled. Does it only show up if the person who's account is frozen is attempting to log in? I couldn't find a certificate on the page either, but my McAfee said the site was fine. So I am a bit lost there too. That's cool that you can confirm this is real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtney.byrum Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Jen - Does your husband know if this will affect all accounts? I don't remember ever giving birthdates for my kids accounts. They don't use them we just figured we'd 'claim' the email addresses early on (they've had them since they were babies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 According to my husband, who works for Google, this is real. US law requires special rules for any information associated with children under 13, so Google doesn't have a lot of choice in the matter. This is cropping up a lot recently because of Google+, which requires people to give a birthdate to sign up. The thirty cent charge is basically "yes I have a credit card that works" and proves that there's an adult controlling the account. Is this something that's recently changed? She's had the acct for 2 yrs so it's bothering me that she's suddenly not old enough to have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Is this something that's recently changed? She's had the acct for 2 yrs so it's bothering me that she's suddenly not old enough to have it. Yes. Google+ is REALLY new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Is she able to just start over with a new account? I wouldn't mind, but without being able to get back into her acct, she'll loose her contacts info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I have heard about this from others on G+ My son has decided not to use G+ for this reason and he knows to not put his real birthdate in any google form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I have gmail and have not had a problem with it. It's not my main email though, I use the one from my service provider for anything important. The gmail I save for groups and other things that might send out spam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 This is me talking. He has gone to work. (Not official in any way) The law isn't new. Gmail didn't use to collect birthdate information. Google was trying to not have this problem. They are now being forced to collect the information and treat it according to this law. No mailing instructions and no fax instructions are so Google doesn't get hammered with paper and faxes. They don't want to be doing this at all. They don't want to collect the information. It would only be a problem for the one account, so I think it would only show up there. They have to deal with the accounts as they find out about them. If your kids have accounts and Google never knows they are under 13 then they don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtney.byrum Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 This is me talking. He has gone to work. (Not official in any way) The law isn't new. Gmail didn't use to collect birthdate information. Google was trying to not have this problem. They are now being forced to collect the information and treat it according to this law. No mailing instructions and no fax instructions are so Google doesn't get hammered with paper and faxes. They don't want to be doing this at all. They don't want to collect the information. It would only be a problem for the one account, so I think it would only show up there. They have to deal with the accounts as they find out about them. If your kids have accounts and Google never knows they are under 13 then they don't know. Thanks :) They've had accounts since gmail was still in beta. We will obviously not sign them up with G+ so hopefully the accounts can just sit until they are old enough for them then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 They have to deal with the accounts as they find out about them. If your kids have accounts and Google never knows they are under 13 then they don't know. But one thing that's bothering me is that when I created this acct for her, I had to make her old enough to have the acct. So unless they've changed the minimum age recently, I don't see why she wouldn't be 'old enough' to have the acct by their records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.