A flurry of reports earlier this year pegged FIFA 12 as a consistent clue when seeking the who/how/what/where/why of Xbox Live Gamertag hacking. According to a Kotaku report, it’s much easier than a single game.

The term, to be precise, is not “hacking.” It’s account jacking. There is no backdoor entry through a specific game or malicious code being written. Instead, it’s a back-and-forth with Xbox Support, reference numbers, and a little help from the dark side of the internet. Accounts with high tenure (the number that designates how long you’ve been a member), Call of Duty digital copies, credit card numbers, or alluring Gamertags are the most likely to be swiped.

Why? It’s more than stolen credit cards, although that is one element. Gamertags are sold on the underground market, where those purchased games can be downloaded to new hardware at a fraction of the Marketplace cost. Welcome to the digital era of video games.