You’ve probably come across your phone running out of battery on the street and needed to charge it urgently. With this in mind, some establishments offer charging stations that could be the solution to your problem. However, the FBI recently shared a warning about risks of charging cell phones at public stations.
Charging your cell phone on the street can be risky
With constant use of cell phones, they tend to discharge frequently throughout the day. Running out of battery can disrupt many activities and even cause harm to some people who depend on these devices for work.
There aren’t always outlets available, and while charging your phone at a public charging station may seem like a good idea, this quick fix could cause problems for your device. The FBI has shared a warning about these shared charging stations.
According to investigators, these locations do not guarantee the security of connected devices. This is due to the possible installation of malware and software by criminals to allow access to your devices.
The information was shared through the official account of FBI on Twitter. Regarding this, they commented that the use of these stations should be avoided, whether they are in airports, hotels or shopping malls. This is because hackers managed to bypass the security of these USB ports and added ways to access the connected devices.
While there hasn’t been a specific recent case, the FBI’s office has shared a warning to citizens. They call this activity “juice jacking.” The Federal Communications Commission has been sending out notices about these activities since 2011.
Criminals can access the names and passwords of users who use these stations. Therefore, there is only one way to protect yourself against this: using your own charger in power outlets. They also emphasize that the infection can occur on cell phones, tablets and notebooks.