Travelers beware of 'juice jacking' at public charging stations and how to safely charge devices on the go

Keys, wallet, cellphone -- check. But what about your charger?

As people prepare to travel during the busy holiday season it could be more important than ever to double check that devices are fully charged or at least ensure you have a power adapter base and chord before leaving the house.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office issued a new warning against those popular public charging stations for a new concern called "juice jacking."

The D.A. urged people to avoid using public USB charging stations at airports and other public locations because it could be susceptible to tampering.

Criminals can load malware onto the convenient charging stations or through the cables left at the kiosk and once a device is plugged in, it becomes infected.

The malware could send a full backup of the phone plugged into the affected kiosk directly to the criminal.

Cyber experts and D.A. officials shared a few tips to keep devices and data safe.

• Use an AC power outlet, not a USB charging station
• Take AC and car chargers for devices when traveling
• Consider buying portable chargers for emergencies