Throughout hallowed antiquity the Greeks, Romans and Britons have branded liars, adulterers and thieves as a way of punishment to cauterize their evil nature for all to see.

It seems Microsoft may be fans of this extreme practice as, during a recent Major Nelson podcast, Xbox Live Policy and Enforcement enforcer Stephen Toulouse ranked that Gamerscore cheaters will not only have their score reduced to an embarrassing zero but also their card will forever be marked as a cheater, the cads.

The show, which both Toulouse and Nelson describe as “swine flu free,” describes cheating as a “pretty big Scarlet Letter.” As I’m sure you all know The Scarlet Letter is novel, written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, that focuses on on themes of committing sin and then struggling to create a new life of repentance. While it’s doubtful Microsoft’s policy on cheating will be considered a magnum opus of morbid intensity, cheaters be warned… Your ill-gotten gains will soon be deleted and your illustrious name forever tainted.

You dirty rotten cheat, you.