The FBI’s Denver office has warned international travelers that free smartphone charging points at airports, hotels, and shopping malls carry risks that many don’t know about.
Criminals have found ways to use public USB ports to inject malware and monitoring software onto devices, according to intelligence agencies.
“Take your charger and USB cable and use electrical contact instead of ports,” they advise.
The FBI described a scam called juice jacking, in which hackers siphon information from a phone while a person uses a public USB charger.
“Intruders download malware onto chargers or cables that they leave connected to devices. In this way, they can infect the phones and other electronic devices of unsuspecting users. Malicious software can lock the device or transfer data and passwords directly to the computer of criminals,” explained the department.