EA is investigating allegations that an employee, or at least someone involved with EA FIFA, is selling rare FIFA 21 Ultimate Team items in exchange for real money through a kind of makeshift black market.Earlier this week, reports began spreading on social media that claimed to have screenshots of a text exchange between an alleged EA employee and a FIFA 21 player trying to purchase FUT Icon and Team of the Year cards. In the text exchange, the seller was offering rare cards for over $1,000 USD.

Typically, the legitimate ways to acquire these cards require trades between players or by purchasing random loot packs, making these cards incredibly rare. And it should be noted that Icon and TOTY cards aren’t just rare because of the famous players on them, but because their competitive stats are also some of the best in the game.

The exchange has since been named EA Gate on social media. You can check out the alleged details in a tweet from @FutArcade below.

#EAGATE

A special thanks to @RiberaRibell for the picture , he did an amazing work

Have you played FIFA 21 [Current-Gen]?

YESNO

(continue in the comments)#fut #fifa pic.twitter.com/bJIg2rpWtI

— Arcade-Fut (@FutArcade) March 10, 2021

It’s unclear exactly how these transactions begin, but according to the chat screenshots, a person seeking rare FUT cards just needs to provide their PSN and EA ID, and the appropriate funds. When asked by the buyer if there’s a reason to worry about being banned, the seller says there’s “no risk” but can’t divulge why out of concern for security.

The alleged seller appears to offer a menu of items, including 3 Icon cards for 750 Euros (~$895) or 3 Icon cards and 2 Team of the Year cards for 1,000 Euros (~$1193).

In a statement published on the official EA Sports FIFA Twitter account, the company says it’s aware of the allegations and has started an investigation.

“A thorough investigation is underway, and if we identify improper conduct, we will take swift action,” says EA. “We want to be clear — this type of behavior is unacceptable, and we in no way condone what is alleged to have happened here.”

pic.twitter.com/DtclTPandl

— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) March 10, 2021

IGN has contacted EA and received the same statement published on Twitter. We’ll have updates for when EA concludes its investigation.

Matt T.M. Kim is a News Editor at IGN.