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People these days depend on their smartphones a lot. And thanks to technology, using our smartphones definitely made our lives a lot easier. But one problem that device users face is running out of battery juice, especially when they are about to travel to a different city or country. Thankfully, airports have public charging stations, right? Wrong.
As warned by the FBI, users should steer clear of free charging stations as these carry a dangerous risk with them.
The FBI Denver Office sent out a tweet today warning everyone about the dangers of using a free charging station in public.
"Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead."
This new threat is coined as juice jacking, which can install malware on the USB port or USB cable where a public charging station connects with. As a result, when you use a public charging station, you might put your device at risk by installing malware that could allow attackers to track your keystrokes and/or steal your data.
Juice jacking isn’t an entirely new concept. PhoneArena points out that back in 2019, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office already issued a warning regarding this. Aside from juice jacking, the threat is also called the USB-charger scam. The best way you can fight this threat is to use a powerbank, connect to a wall outlet with your own charging gear, or use a car charger. If you must use a public charging station, you can protect your device from juice jacking by keeping your device locked or powered off.
Source: PhoneArena
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