Consumers have been issued a warning by FBI Denver regarding public charging stations. They say not to use free public charging stations because thieves have managed to take control of them and infect devices with malware. This can grant hackers access to your phone, tablet, or computer.
“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels, or shopping centers,” a tweet from the FBI’s Denver field office said. “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.”
The advisory did not mention any recent incidents of “juice jacking” harming consumers. The letter was intended only as a warning, according to the FBI’s Denver field office, and no particular incident caused it.
On its website, the FBI provides similar advice on how to stay away from public charging.
The virus loading technique known as “juice jacking” was mentioned by the Federal Communications Commission as well.
The FCC issued a warning a in 2021 and said that consumer devices with infected USB cables may be taken over by software that would then steal usernames and passwords. Consumers were advised by the commission to stay away from those public stations.
