Beware of tabnabbing, a technique that changes the content of some of your tabs without you noticing. — Photography Giulio Fornasar/Getty Images/AFP Relaxnews
A particularly insidious online scam has cybersecurity experts and the authorities worried. It involves changing the content of an inactive tab in your web browser. Like any other form of phishing, the aim is to steal confidential data.
The term tabnabbing is a contraction of "tab” and "nabbing.” This scam consists of replacing the content of an inactive tab with a fake login page imitating a legitimate site, such as an email service, a banking platform or a shopping site. When users return to this tab, they are prompted to enter their login details, believing they are on a genuine site. This technique is akin to phishing, since it involves taking on the appearance of an official site in order to steal sensitive data (identity, passwords, bank details).
After a certain period of inactivity, a script can modify the content of an unused tab to display a false login page, thereby exploiting the user's trust. On the screen, the tab in question may change title or icon, but the general appearance remains that of a well-known site, making the deception difficult to detect at first glance.
Although the phenomenon has been known for years, it is currently on the increase. In Spain, the police are even running a social media campaign to warn internet users of the dangers of this type of scam.
To protect yourself against tabnabbing, try limiting the number of tabs you have open: the more tabs you open, the greater the risk. In case of doubt, you should also make sure that the site address is correct and does not, for example, contain a series of suspicious letters. As with classic phishing, which consists of mimicking the identity of a well-known brand via emails or truncated links, vigilance remains the best defence against tabnabbing. – AFP Relaxnews
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