Theft. It's a very very bad thing that never goes unpunished unless your name is Daniel Ocean and you can actually get away with it. It's such a bad thing, in fact, that even Microsoft is handing out large quantities of whoop-ass to Xbox Live accounts for what they have described as "Marketplace Theft."

There's a lot of Xbox 360 owners who have reported receiving permanent bans from the online gaming service up until December 31, 9999 -- as Microsoft is expecting these wrongdoers to be immortal, or cryogenically freeze their bodies in order to slumber through the ban, and reawaken when the expulsion has finally been lifted. Many of the accused have, however, pleaded innocent. Surprise, surprise!

In a thread on the Xbox.com forum titled "Suspended for Marketplace Theft?", a spokesperson for Microsoft detailed that the action in place was in response to those baddies who had "illegitimately" accessed downloadable content.

"During the course of a recent investigation, we have discovered users who illegitimately accessed Xbox Live Marketplace downloadable content," the Microsoft spokesperson stated.

"Our investigation reveals that this access was intentional and not accidental, constituting a blatant violation of the Terms of Use for the service. We will not divulge additional information regarding individual suspensions for these offenses."

"Please know that we are being very careful regarding these suspensions, and have clear evidence regarding each account issued a permanent suspension from the service. We apologize for any frustration of confusion resulting from our inability to share individual details, and thank you all for you cooperation in this matter."

If you're one of those unfortunate Xbox 360 owners that have been treated to the sting of the ban-whip, it would make sense to stop being a wiener and doing irresponsible things like stealing. If you're an innocent bystander and have mistakenly been banned, just keep in mind that if you really didn't do it, they'll have proof of it and your services will be restored.