Is There Trouble in Farmville? Lawsuit Alleges Scams in Facebook Games.
Facebook users are likely familiar with the ubiquitous Zynga even if they don't play the company's social games themselves. Reading the "feed" that contains updates from Facebook friends often contains a variety of messages concerning everyone else's gaming activities, keeping everyone in their lives up-to-date on what they're cooking in Cafe World or what they're growing in Farmville.
Zynga's games have become so popular, in fact, that the company has recently been featured in the New York Times, Time, Business Week, and The Economist, leaving some wondering if they are gearing up for going public. But as one analyst pointed out on the subject of potential "scammy offers" in the games, a tarnished brand could do serious damage to that possibility.
So is Zynga's number up? A recent lawsuit filed by a woman in Santa Cruz, California alleges that she lost $200 due to "deceptive ads" on the Facebook games. The plaintiff's attorney says that thousands of others could potentially be part of the class-action suit.
Though the games themselves are free, players can advance to higher levels and get more virtual cash by participating in trial offers or paying a fee. For example, $5 gets you 7,500 "farm coins" in the game Farmville. And the lawsuit's plaintiff claimed that she signed up for a free trial of green tea in exchange for in-game rewards for YoVille ? but then ended up with $165 in charges for the products despite canceling the trial.
The suit is seeking over $5 million in compensation for a growing number of potential plaintiffs as the lawyers involved reach out to those who may have been scammed.
Facebook itself had pointed out that the ads in question come from third parties, but still discounted the lawsuit as frivolous. It should also be noted that the allegedly dishonest offers are coming from third parties rather than from Zynga itself; this sort of "free trial" offer is common all over the web. If these offers are scamming players, is Zynga responsible... or are they just being played as well?
Zynga's games have become so popular, in fact, that the company has recently been featured in the New York Times, Time, Business Week, and The Economist, leaving some wondering if they are gearing up for going public. But as one analyst pointed out on the subject of potential "scammy offers" in the games, a tarnished brand could do serious damage to that possibility.
So is Zynga's number up? A recent lawsuit filed by a woman in Santa Cruz, California alleges that she lost $200 due to "deceptive ads" on the Facebook games. The plaintiff's attorney says that thousands of others could potentially be part of the class-action suit.
Though the games themselves are free, players can advance to higher levels and get more virtual cash by participating in trial offers or paying a fee. For example, $5 gets you 7,500 "farm coins" in the game Farmville. And the lawsuit's plaintiff claimed that she signed up for a free trial of green tea in exchange for in-game rewards for YoVille ? but then ended up with $165 in charges for the products despite canceling the trial.
The suit is seeking over $5 million in compensation for a growing number of potential plaintiffs as the lawyers involved reach out to those who may have been scammed.
Facebook itself had pointed out that the ads in question come from third parties, but still discounted the lawsuit as frivolous. It should also be noted that the allegedly dishonest offers are coming from third parties rather than from Zynga itself; this sort of "free trial" offer is common all over the web. If these offers are scamming players, is Zynga responsible... or are they just being played as well?
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