IF you own a smartphone, you need to need to be careful using it in public.
That’s an official warning from the FBI who said using caution can save you from eerie cyber-crime attacks.
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Most people worry that using their phone in public might result it in being stolen.
But there are some potential mistakes you can make that can let crooks “virtually” steal from you too.
Crooks could scoop up your private info and use it to defraud you, which can prove very costly.
The first is to avoid doing anything sensitive on a public Wi-Fi network.
“Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network,” the FBI warned in an official memo.
“And do not conduct any sensitive transactions, including purchases, when on a public network.”
You don’t know how secure public Wi-Fi networks are, or who may be watching.
So it’s best to limit what you’re doing on a public Wi-Fi, or use a VPN app so that your web traffic is encrypted.
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The second thing you need to be wary of is any “free charging” offering.
It’s always best to use your own charging systems to juice up phones, tablets and laptops.
Otherwise you may become a victim of “juice-jacking”.
“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels, or shopping centers,” the FBI advised.
“Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices that access these ports.
“Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.”
An attack is unlikely, but carrying your own charge is a simple and inexpensive way to completely dodge the problem.
