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Skip the airport chargers: Gee warns Sea-Tac travelers of ‘juice jacking’

Jun 9, 2025, 6:25 PM

juice jacking...

A gate at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Photo: Chris Sullivan, KIRO Newsradio)

(Photo: Chris Sullivan, KIRO Newsradio)

Checking your flight time on your smartphone and notice your battery’s low? Don’t use the airport chargers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) warned.

Gee Scott, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, explained why travelers should be wary of “juice jacking.”

“What is juice jacking? It’s the type of cyber attack where hackers install malware on public charging stations, potentially stealing your data or affecting your device,” Gee said on “Seattle’s Morning News” last week. “So right now, TSA and them are warning travelers—don’t plug in your devices directly into the airport USB ports.

“You sit down at the gate, there are USB ports and everything like that, and you just go plug it up,” Gee continued. “But even when you plug it up, you notice how slow it is. Chill with that.”

TSA: Bring your own power packs to prevent ‘juice jacking’

TSA is advising passengers to bring their own compliant power packs.

Charlie Harger, co-host of “Seattle’s Morning News,” said he is the type of person who gets nervous if his phone is below 80%.

To which Gee cheekily responded, “If there is a guy that’s like, ‘Hey, I can’t let my phone get below 80,’ they usually iron their underwear.”

Listen to the full conversation below.

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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Skip the airport chargers: Gee warns Sea-Tac travelers of ‘juice jacking’