The images that have been circulating on the Internet of leaked copies of the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops have turned out to actually be the real deal. Sources selling illegal copies of the game are springing up all over the place, according to a number of reports.

Activision isn’t taking this with a grain of salt, but has instead engaged a private investigation firm to stem the spread of pirated copies of the game. These private investigators are apparently taking a much softer and kinder approach to the problem using some “good cop” tactics to deal with the situation. Activision apparently isn’t keen on taking a heavy handed approach due to the possibility of negative press that it could generate, according to sources claiming to have direct knowledge of the situation.

Tracking down those that have purchased pirated copies isn’t that hard if the players have been playing the game on Xbox Live. Microsoft can quickly spot those playing the pirated version of the game and turn the information over to Activision Blizzard, which then gives the info to its team of investigators. Whispers suggest that those caught are cooperating and surrendering their pirated copies of the game.

The bigger issue is perhaps watching for possible copies to show up on Torrent sites for download. While the first copies that have shown up have been confirmed as fakes, Treyarch is keeping watch for possible real copies of the game being uploaded to P2P sites. Of course, the developer is doing everything possible to monitor the situation.