If you get an invitation to sign up for the Halo 4 beta, don’t fall for it. The site associated with the invites, Halo4beat.net (pictured), is a fake.

Halo 4 is one of the most anticipated games of 2012 and it is expected to launch in the holidays. Spots in the beta test are likely to be coveted.

Microsoft has filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum to have the site permanently shut down and its domain name taken.

David Ellis, creative director of Microsoft’s 343 Industries, warned a couple of weeks ago that the page was a fake. The site reportedly shut down after that, but Microsoft is going after it anyway, since the URL used in the apparent “phishing” scam is still out there. Microsoft has to show that the domain in question was registered maliciously in order to win the case.

Last June, Microsoft bought the domain name Halo4.com for an undisclosed amount.

[screen image credit: Fusible]