Public USB charging stations may expose personal info to hackers, report says

TAMPA, Fla. – Public charging stations are a godsend when phones or tablets are running low on power, but they also provide yet another way for hackers to steal your private information.

Crooks are now setting up charging station kiosks in public locations like airports or shops that look legitimate, but are actually there to infect your device, reports WTVT.

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The report claims hackers can control phones once they get access to the personal data through the fake charging stations.

Nathan Fish, a cyber security professor at the University of South Florida, suggests protecting devices by buying power-only USB cables and charging only back-up batteries and not the actual phone.

Also, wall outlets are considered to be much safer to charge a phone or tablet than a charging station.