Tabnabbing: PeopleFinders Helps You Avoid Identity Theft Scams

Online, June 18, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Sacramento, CA - June 17, 2010 - PeopleFinders.com (http://www.peoplefinders.com/), the premier online service that helps consumers find anyone, anywhere, wants to help protect you from tabnabbing (aka tabnapping) and other clever scams used by identity thieves. Tabnabbing is a new method of phishing that can easily trick anyone into inadvertently giving up their personal information online. Criminals are using it to steal passwords, bank account information, credit card numbers and anything else of value.

What Is Tabnabbing?
Tabnabbing is a form of phishing that attacks you while you're surfing the web. Most people have several pages, or tabs, open at the same time, and click back and forth between them. While you're not looking at a particular tab it becomes inactive - or so you may think.

Clever criminals have created a program that changes a page when you're not looking. Once a tab becomes inactive, the screen transforms into something that looks like the login for a website you probably use. This could be anything from an email to a banking or credit card account. When you come back to the tab, it appears that you were using this site earlier and your session timed out. Chances are you'll log back in, and just like that they've got your personal information. Your identity is in jeopardy.

How Can This Happen?
So how do identity thieves get into your computer and change an open tab into something they created? Before tabnabbing can occur, the thieves must gain access to your computer. Victims of this scheme may inadvertently give criminals an easy way in.

Tabnabbing begins after a third-party script runs on your computer. The script could come from a seemingly harmless flash widget or another program that you downloaded. Once the script has been activated, tabnabbers are ready to start phishing.

Avoid Tabnabbing
Unless you are willing to settle for using one tab at a time while surfing the web, you should consider taking additional steps to protect yourself from this new form of identity theft. Your computer may provide the first line of defense. Click the Tools icon at the top of your browser and update your Security settings to issue warnings that you are about to visit a harmful or spoofed site. This is a good start, but no guaranty.

The best method to avoid tabnabbing is to always enter the complete URL for every site you log into. That goes for email accounts, payment processing services, social networks and any other site that holds personal information. Typing the correct URL yourself will assure that you are not being phished. Do this every time; even if you were already using a site and your session expired, enter the URL again.

Watch Out For Other Identity Theft Scams
Criminals have concocted several sneaky plots that are designed to steal your identity. Here are a few nasty tricks to watch out for:

• Identity thieves will steal your personal information right out of the garbage. Be careful what you throw away - always shred anything that contains personal, financial or other sensitive information.

• Scam artists tell very convincing lies, so make sure you know whom you're dealing with. Visit PeopleFinders.com and order a Background Check with Nationwide Criminal Records before getting involved with someone personally, professionally or romantically.

• Millions of people have unwittingly provided personal data to law breakers over the phone. Never give private details to any caller. If an unknown person calls and requests information, run a Reverse Phone Lookup to discover the caller's name and other details.

• Tabnabbing is the newest phishing scam, but there are many more. The most common is an email that asks you to click on a link and log in at an authentic-looking website. Ignore these emails; they are phony. Follow the tip above and always enter the complete URL before logging in anywhere.

###