GTA 5 cheaters: Rockstar is hunting you down

Rockstar is putting Grand Theft Auto Online cheaters in its sights.

The developer announced today that anyone caught exploiting Grand Theft Auto V's online mode by generating and distributing counterfeit in-game currency may be placed in an "isolated cheater pool" with other cheaters, or banned from the game altogether.

In recent weeks, Rockstar said it discovered a "small number" of GTA Online players who created "game-breaking" amounts of GTA$, which disrupted the overall experience for other players. Today's announcement is in response to that discovery.

As part of the game's ongoing maintenance period, Rockstar is removing the counterfeit GTA$ from the game's economy. Additional title updates to GTA Online will be released on an ongoing basis to counteract whatever impact this fake money had on the game and its players.

However, if you "innocently" received any of this counterfeit GTA$, but did not engage in cheating to acquire it, you won't be penalized beyond having that money taken away. All items you purchased using the "dirty" money will be yours to keep.

Finally, Rockstar reminded players that they can report in-game malfeasance mid-session by alerting the developer via GTA Online's in-game reporting functionality.

"We're grateful for the community's continued support in dealing with these issues and once again apologize to anyone that has had their Grand Theft Auto Online experience sullied by these exploits that broke the game's natural flow," Rockstar said. "Please stay tuned for lots more news about GTA Online in the weeks ahead."