Some things in life are just too good to be true. A Halo 4 beta is one of those things.

There was a certain Web site going around that claims to offer access to the Halo 4 beta. Let’s just ignore that Halo 4 has only had one trailer and Microsoft has been rather mum on it since. A beta isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility, but offering it to everyday gamers before releasing any information to the press is.

Now, David Ellis warned us of this fake beta a while ago via Twitter. That must have been enough to deter most gamers, but not all Halo players are on Twitter. They might not have heard the news and a Halo 4 beta would certainly make their day.

Well, the Web site was taken down after the press got a hold of Ellis’ warning. Best to get out of the scam business before it explodes in your face. Microsoft is forcing it to explode by filing a complaint against the Web site with the National Arbitration Forum according to Fusible.

Microsoft has a 99.9 percent chance to claim the domain name from the fraudster. It won’t be long before halo4beta.net becomes Microsoft property and can be used for the actual Halo 4 beta that will most likely precede Halo 4’s expected launch at the end of this year.

So as to avoid falling for such a scam in the future, remember these helpful tips regarding multiplayer betas. Betas are always announced by the publisher/developer proper before they are deployed for public play. Even if it’s a closed beta, there will be a press release or announcement of some kind. The Web site for a beta will also have links to the Web sites of the developer/publisher and are usually already tied into the Web site proper anyway.

In other words, the old saying remains true: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.