Beating someone over Xbox Live usually results in nothing more than a string of expletives, but some users are reporting that they’re now getting kicked off the network by sore losers using a denial-of-service attack, which bombards your Internet connection with bogus data until it drops out.

Worse still, hackers are selling DOS on demand to disgruntled players, the BBC News reported today. That means anyone with a few bucks and a lack of morals can attack players who are simply too good at Street Fighter IV.

In a statement given to Ars Technica on Friday, a Microsoft representative responded by saying, “In our continued effort to help provide a safer and more secure experience for our community of more than 17 million members, we are investigating reports involving the use of malicious software tools that an attacker could use to try and disrupt an Xbox Live player’s Internet connection.”

“This problem is not related to the Xbox Liveservice, but to the player’s internet connection,” the representative added. “The attacker could also attempt disrupt other internet activities such as streaming video or web browsing using the same tools.”

Fair enough. Since Xbox Live games connect to the Internet like everything else, using an IP address, it’s possible for hackers to discover your address using underground packet-sniffing software, then flood the Xbox port with incoming data to boot you off. Other offenders are reportedly asking for an IP address by sneaky means before opening the denial-of-service floodgates.