A 16-year-old Conyers boy has been arrested on felony counts of identity theft, terrorist threats and giving false statements to law enforcement after he hacked into a 10-year-old Covington girl’s online XBox LIVE account and then threatened her after she questioned him about the purchases he made on her account.

Newton County Sheriff’s Deputy Cortney Morrison said the male frequently played video games online and often played online with the girl.

In order to play online through Xbox LIVE, a person must enter credit card information and choose a username, which is the name that shows up when that person plays with other people.

When the girl’s mother saw her credit card statement, she noticed multiple charges for game purchases through Xbox LIVE. The daughter recognized the username on the account as belonging to someone she played games with online. The daughter then sent an instant message through her Xbox to the boy telling him he had used her mom’s credit card.

“The daughter then began receiving instant messages that were threatening in nature, threatening physical harm to her, her friends and her family,” Morrison said.

Newton County sheriff’s investigators were able to track down the IP address of the boy’s username and determine that he was the source of both the charges and the threats.

Morrison said the case is not yet closed because investigators are exploring whether the boy hacked into any other people’s Xbox LIVE accounts. If he has, more charges could be pending.

The boy’s name is not being released because he is a juvenile.