Your power bank may be secretly filming? Shared power banks are not as safe as you think...

Editor: Gong Zixin

In recent years, there have been many cases of secret filming in subways, hotels and even at home . Where do these secret filming and recording devices come from? Recently, the Qingdao police in Shandong Province cracked a case of illegal production and sale of special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos. More than 500 such devices were seized. In just over three months, the criminal gang produced more than 3,000 special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos and sold them to various places.

Among the equipment seized by the police was a power bank that looked common, but when it was opened, cameras and recording devices were found

For a while, #Power bank has become a eavesdropping device# became a hot search

According to the police, this power bank looks very ordinary from the outside, with the power bank logo and voltage and capacity marked on it, but it is full of mysteries when opened: there is a one-way light-transmitting glass on the top. If you remove the glass, you can see the camera inside, which also has the corresponding recording equipment, as well as an integrated circuit board and memory card.

The relevant departments have identified that this disguised power bank is a special eavesdropping and stealing camera equipment. Some people with bad intentions often use it for illegal activities after purchasing it, which is very harmful to society. The police found that each piece of stealing camera equipment disguised as a power bank costs about 40 yuan, and the suspects sold each piece for 600 to 1,200 yuan, making a profit of more than 2 million yuan in just over three months. At present, the suspect has been taken criminal compulsory measures by the police in accordance with the law, and the case is still under investigation.

In fact, as early as 2020, China National Radio's "News Hyperlink" reported on the power bank scam: some power banks were ostensibly charging people's mobile phones, but secretly stealing personal information from the mobile phones.

The police warned that rentable mobile power banks in shopping malls pose safety risks . A scientific experiment revealed the hidden risks of shared power banks. The experiment showed that when a mobile phone is connected to a power bank, it appears to be charging, but in fact the phone has been controlled by the computer of the criminals. The information stored in the phone can be seen, and it can be remotely controlled, and even some sensitive payment operations can be performed.

Power banks are convenient and easy to carry around, but you must be careful when purchasing and using them !

0 1 Common sense in purchasing

▲Choose a reputable and well-regarded merchant to purchase. Pay attention to the product name, model, manufacturer name, trademark or identification mark, rated input voltage and current, rated output voltage and current and other product information.

▲When purchasing products that comply with relevant mandatory national standards, ask the operator for an invoice or other shopping receipt as important evidence for future rights protection.

▲ Check the appearance of the product. The surface of the product should be clean, without obvious deformation, mechanical damage, and no rust on the interface contacts.

02How to prevent privacy leakage?

▲Be careful of the merchants’ false logos and do not buy or scan power banks of unknown origin.

▲Try to avoid renting power banks or borrowing other third-party USB devices in public places. If you have to use a shared power bank in an emergency, please choose a regular product or scan the rentable mobile power bank from a regular company.

▲Before use, be sure to check the safety label of the power bank, and be wary of products without any certification or reassembled power banks.

▲Before using a shared power bank, you need to carefully read the user agreement and privacy protection policy, and be cautious when authorizing personal information or using related products.

▲There is a function called developer mode in the phone settings. This function is turned off by default. We ordinary users should try not to turn on this developer mode, otherwise we will be more likely to be attacked by malicious power banks and other third-party devices.

Police reminder

At present, some criminals disguise mobile phones, car keys, glasses and even watches and buttons as hidden cameras and sell them to secretly record and photograph other people's privacy, seriously infringing on the rights and personal safety of citizens.

The police said that while cracking down on the illegal manufacture and sale of special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos in accordance with the law, they also reminded the general public not to buy such equipment. Once you find that someone has eavesdropped or stolen photos, you should report it in time to protect your personal privacy from infringement in accordance with the law.

Reference sources: CCTV News, China Confidential Online, China National Radio, Guangdong News Network