EA Sports promises dire consequences for FIFA Ultimate Team cheaters

With FIFA 15 just a month away, EA Sports has issued a rather stern warning to people giving thought to cheating in FIFA Ultimate Team .

. The publisher said it will be "more proactive in taking action" against bots, coin sellers, match cheats and other exploits, and players caught cheating could find themselves permanently banned from the game.

The bots used by some players to farm coins and automatically buy items from the Transfer Market are able to perform searches and make bids "at rates significantly higher than what is humanly possibly," EA explained. But that not only gives people using bots a big advantage over those who don't, it also puts a much greater strain on the FIFA Ultimate Team infrastructure than it was designed to handle, leading to problems like stuck transfers, lost coins or players, or market searches that turn up no results. And with or without bots, buying and selling coins is a violation of the terms of service and "amounts to cheating in FIFA Ultimate Team," it added.

To ensure that everyone knows where they stand, EA provided a breakdown of its ban process. Players caught buying coins or promoting coin sellers will first be given a warning in-game and via email; a second offense will lead to the loss of FIFA points and a club reset, while a third offense will result in a permanent ban from FIFA Online. Anyone caught farming or selling coins will be permanently banned from all EA games without warning.

Immediate, permanent FIFA Online bans will also be levied against players caught using match cheats to record false records, as well as anyone busted using exploits to boost the stats of their Online Virtual Pros in Pro Clubs. The FIFA Interactive World Cup leaderboards are also being "cleaned bi-weekly for cheaters."

"From here on we'll be more proactive in upholding our Terms of Service and banning those who violate the Terms of Service. We plan on giving you regular updates on our progress against cheaters throughout the year," the warning concluded. If you're a FIFA player, you'll probably want to read the whole thing.