A post in the Gearbox forums warns users of an external application that certain mean-spirited hackers use which "maliciously disrupts the experience and sabotages characters of legitimate Borderlands 2 players."

"After extensive internal testing, an update to prevent this disruption has been submitted to Microsoft and will be released as soon as possible. Until then, concerned Xbox 360 players of Borderlands 2 should consider playing online with trusted individuals in non-public sessions. This does not affect players on PC or Playstation 3," Gearbox's community manager told worried gamers tonight.

Gearbox also recommends players always select "Save and Quit" before quitting out of the game while the character is still alive. "If after the death of their character players find themselves at the main menu of Borderlands 2 instead of respawning in-game, be sure to immediately select 'Continue' to resume playing as that character."

The exact nature of the hack remains vague, but hopefully Gearbox and their patch should be able to quell it before things get really out of hand.