Beware of public mobile phone charging points

Think twice before using that random cable or a USB port found at the charging stations kept at bus stands, railway stations, hotels, shopping malls and even airports as hackers could be waiting to steal your data.

Hyderabad: Are you using mobile charging facility in public places? If so, be careful. You may get the charge of committing criminal offence of Juice Jacking. Fraudsters exploit the context of using a public charging port to gain unauthorized control over malware and steal private information stored on the public's mobile devices.

Do you know how fraudsters are targeting public charging points?

Already many types of cyber crime cases are creating awareness among the public. Day by day fraudsters are experimenting innovative methods to play with people and cheat them. Now these fraudsters are en-cashing the public charging facilities. In public places that too where there is no security based networks, fraudsters are committing these kind of offence.

How unsecured places become target point of the fraudsters?

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao has already informed to the public to be alert in this regard. To help the people using mobile phones, public charger points are made available for the travellers. But there is no answer for how safe it is? Public places like railway stations, bus stands, Airports, hotels, restaurants and parks have public charging points. People who use such facilities have unaware of surrounding and who are watching them. But there are fraudsters who steal data through the chargers.

Though you are in safe place, you should be in alert

Bus stands, hotels and parks are not very safe place to charge your cell phones. But even safe places are target of these cyber hackers. There are already a lot of charger points installed in the airports. The airport employees are not checking the status of it.

Thousands of people are gathering at airport. Those people keep using the mobile phones. If there is delay in flights they start using mobile phones. When battery gets exhausted, people use the charging points nearby. If you think there will not be any problem of using charging points, you are wrong. Even there the fraudsters are taking advantage by public charging facility to hack into your data and steal money.

Social networking sites too are targeted

Fraudsters use to hack into the ATM cards earlier to steal money. But now they started using social networking sites to do so. When you use public charging points fraudsters will hack into your social media account profile and steal your photos.

By uploading morphed photos of you, started back mailing you for the money. Through your social media profile they will take necessary information of your relatives and friends and black mail them and take money. It will not even come to your notice. Therefore police commissioner has cautioned the public not to use charger in public places.

How do they hack?

You may have the doubt that how do fraudsters hack into your mobile if you use public charger as there is only charging wire. Cyber experts have found answers for this. Our one ignorance may spoil our life. Through charging wire the necessary virus that is juice jacking virus fraudsters operate your data. They will be vigilant of all the applications you use in your mobile phone. The password will be made available for the hackers once you use in your device. Once they get access to your password hacking will not be tough task for them. Therefore be cautious while charging in public places.

Even charging point is not safe

Not only through USB cable but also through charging point your data will be recorded. If you use public charging point at the back end the data will be collected. Whatever operation you do in your device the hackers system will display it for them. With this you yourself will get caught by the hackers.

You will not be aware that hackers have your data

If you are using any account or QR code for the transaction while charging your device through public charging points these hackers will track the data from where they are. The gang is getting ready to carry out such hacking. If you use the applications such as Facebook , WhatsApp account pass words, Google pay, Phone Pay, Paytm password hackers will easily get all the details.

How to safeguard yourself from hackers?

• If you are going out or travelling keep your own charger or battery bank with you.
• Do not allow easy data transfer from your phone to other phones
• Make sure that you mobile is not paired with any other devices.
• Switch off your mobile while putting into public charging points.
• Do not use the mobile licking system of your device such as pattern lock, pin code, thumb lock and password
• If you use these precautions you will be safe from fraudsters.