April 12. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning to travelers about “juice jacking,” a deceptive practice used to steal information from phones while they charge at public stations at airports and in hotels.
According to ABC Chicago, an FBI spokesperson said people should avoid using free charging stations in “airports, hotels or shopping centers” due to concerns that hackers would use the public USB ports to “introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices.”
Scammers figured out that some smartphones use the same port for charging and data transfer, allowing them to move data between devices and steal information or install malware. Juice jacking has been a tool used by hackers for years, but the FBI is the first federal agency to address the issue.
To offset the possible issues associated with the charger scam, travelers are advised to bring a portable charger or external battery, carry a charging-only cable and avoid plugging devices into public wires.
Source: Travel Pulse
