Lost iPhone Half a Year Ago, Didn't Bother Reporting — Now Wants a Refund After 9 Genshin Crystal Charges; Internet: 'What Does This Have to Do With the Game?'

Imagine having a game on your phone you've never played — and it charged you 9 times anyway. That's exactly what happened when a man appeared on *1818 Golden Eye* (1818黄金眼), a well-known Chinese consumer rights TV show, claiming he never touched Genshin Impact yet his account was hit with 9 separate charges for Genesis Crystals (创世结晶), the game's premium currency. He brought in the camera crew to demand a refund.

But as the story unfolded, netizens quickly smelled something off. Viewers who watched the actual video pieced together the real timeline: the guy lost his iPhone over half a year ago. Because the phone "wasn't worth much," he never filed a police report, never locked the device, and never disabled his linked accounts. He only noticed something was wrong when mysterious charges started showing up on his Alipay statements.

Here's the critical detail: when an iPhone is linked to Alipay, purchases can go through with just the Apple ID password — no separate Alipay authentication needed. Essentially, whoever found (or stole) the phone only needed the Apple ID password to go on a spending spree. And because Apple takes its standard 30% revenue cut on all in-app purchases, miHoYo refused to issue a refund, stating the money went through Apple's payment channel.

The comments section delivered some brutally honest takes:

"That's entirely his own fault — he lost his phone and didn't even lock it?" — a highly upvoted comment that cut straight to the heart of the matter. Half a year without reporting, locking, or even checking his accounts. The consensus was clear: personal negligence came first.

"The logic is basically: you dropped your wallet, never went to the police, and only remembered to complain when the bills arrived." Another commenter drew a sharp analogy — this has nothing to do with virtual goods or gaming. It's essentially theft, and the proper response is calling the cops, not calling a TV crew.

One commenter's satirical suggestion went viral: "How about we change the headline to — 'Apple iPhone Has MAJOR Security Vulnerability, Payment Password Easily Cracked!'" Multiple people replied with "You're hired at the news department starting tomorrow." Behind the joke lies a real point: instead of scapegoating the game, maybe question the payment platform's security?

"What the hell does this have to do with the game?" — arguably the most concise and accurate summary of the entire situation. The game was merely the destination of the charges. The real culprits are whoever picked up the phone and kept spending, plus the owner's own half-year of total inaction.

There was also a strong contingent of skeptics who called this a classic scheme: either a kid secretly topped up then deleted the game to destroy evidence, or the adult spent the money themselves and blamed it on a minor. After all, "bringing a TV crew to pressure a refund" is suspiciously professional behavior. In the end, miHoYo held firm on no refunds, Alipay said the transaction channel was functioning normally, and Apple stayed silent. The "refund quest" most likely ended in a dead end.