Have you heard of "tabnapping"?
By dragon54u
@dragon54u (31634)
United States
May 30, 2010 12:03pm CST
It's a play on the word "kidnapping". When you have a lot of tabs open in your browser you might be taking a chance on this scam. Scummy hackers look for open tabs for bank accounts, Paypal accounts and even eBay accounts. Then they send a message so that your computer notifies you that you have been logged out of that particular bank or site. You might go to that tab and re-enter your information and then the scum have your personal info!
The best way to avoid this is to always log out of a page you are done with, even if you think you might need it in an hour or so. It's amazing to me how people can spend their free time thinking of ways to steal from others.
2 people like this
11 responses
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
30 May 10
You should always log out as soon as you have completed your transactions.
But you will find that secure websites like a bank, will log you out automatically if you have been idle for 10 or 15 minutes.
As for the scam, it would be more luck than anything else for someone to find who is logged on an account in that short space of time.
There are actually a lot of stuff out there, like this one, design for the sole purpose of scaring people from using the internet.
Banks and PayPal relies on people to do their transaction online, and will do everything in their power to prevent such thing happening.
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (160708)
• United States
30 May 10
I just did a search and several reliable sources are discussing this. Evidently it is a javascript that will change the appearance of a page and tab, so that the user thinks they are at a site they normally use, and they type in their information to "log in" and thus give information to the phisher.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
When I'm banking or doing Paypal, I open in in a separate window and always log out then close the window. My bank advised that and I figured it was a good idea for other financial stuff.
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
31 May 10
My internet security settings have an anti-phisher, which is displayed in the status bar of IE. It has been there for two or three years. So as long as you have turn it on, you have nothing to worry about.
@GardenGerty (160708)
• United States
30 May 10
I sign out of important accounts after using them. I do not do tabbed browsing. I had not ever heard of this, but I suppose anything that can happen will. I try to practice safe internet browsing.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160708)
• United States
31 May 10
That is true, I do use tabs when writing assignments. Financial, I do not though.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
I have 3-4 different tabs open routinely when I write but I always use a separate window for financial stuff and log out then close the window. That'll fix 'em!
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
30 May 10
Thank you for posting this information. I had never heard of this before but I did know that after signing/logging out/off from my bank one should never leave any tab (even the sign on again tab) but should be cleared.
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
I heard that, too, so I use a separate window. I like to listen to Kim Komando's show, she's always telling stuff like this to keep her listeners on their toes!
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
30 May 10
well i didnt know this but i seldom use tabs. when i go into anything important like my bank account, paypal, etc. i always sign out as soon as im done. 
usually only about 3 to 5 mins.@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
Me, too, and I open a whole new window for it. Better safe than sorry!
@magdafloasiu (91)
• Romania
31 May 10
I did not know about it. thank you for sharing this info with us. soon we would not be able to breath as someone will stealing our lungs. god knows what it is going to be. we are leaving in danger from the first minute of our life until the last one.I always dream to have a good life, with everything I need for a decent live, in good health and security. these days, it seems that I ask too much.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
It certainly is overwhelming at times, isn't it? Don't give up! Keep living a life free of bad things. Treat people as you would want to be treated and if you get more grief than joy, remember it will all balance out in the end.
@magdafloasiu (91)
• Romania
1 Jun 10
thank you so much for your nice words! I know that in the end anyone will respond for what they are doing. so, I usually worry about me, about what kind of person I am, what I do good or bad...so, wish you all the best.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
Lots of people don't log out, you are smart to be careful.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
30 May 10
hi dragon my bank logs you out automatically if you are on over a specific amount of time but I alwayslog out the moment I am through with the bank or paypal.never ever just leave them open. I work between tabs on mylot but that is not likely to be scammed.I agree its dumbfounding the way people will work to steal from others instead of doing a honest day'
s work instead.
s work instead.1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
If they would turn that creativity to honest work they would probably be well to do or rich!
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
You're quite welcome! I always appreciate people who tell me about things like this. Some people have heard of it, some have not. I'm not often up to date on the latest computer viruses and scams so I try to post those that I know of. Happy surfing!!
@alanthony333 (116)
• Philippines
31 May 10
Oh yeah... I heard of this.. Thanks for the reminder.. :D
@kosanya (28)
• United States
31 May 10
Yes, I have heard of this. I guess when you are at home you do not have to worry about someone stealing your personal information. However, when you are in a public library or another crowded place, I suggest that you do not forget to logout. Otherwise, you are asking for trouble. Better yet, try not to view personal information on public computers. You never know what the geeks are capable of these days.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 May 10
I don't use public computers, there's too much that can go wrong. It's a shame we have to watch for stuff like this.
