"As part of my 'Report to Support'™ initiative, I am sharing a news clippings of a local scams in Baltimore, Maryland, to alert Norton to offline tactics that may be indirectly linked to broader cybersecurity risks."

[Danese.Johnson]

​I am sharing this news report from here in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of my "Report to Support"™ initiative. While the activity described in this clipping may not be a direct digital attack or a traditional “cybersecurity” risk, these local schemes often serve as the groundwork for identity theft and more sophisticated phishing operations.

​I believe it’s vital for threat intelligence teams to see how these localized, “offline” tactics are evolving so we can stay one step ahead. I’ve included the link/clipping below to help Norton monitor any potential indirect links to broader fraud networks.

[bjm]

Note: wmar2news.com appears “advertising-heavy” – “densely monetized”

WMAR-2 News is a legitimate local Baltimore TV news site owned by The E. W. Scripps Company, but many users find sites like this increasingly cluttered with autoplay videos, popups, tracking scripts, and heavy ad placement.

That’s become pretty common across local TV-station websites because:

• broadcast TV ad revenue has declined,
• local news sites rely heavily on programmatic advertising,
• and many stations outsource ad delivery to third-party networks.

Sometimes the ads themselves are more problematic than the site content:

• excessive tracking,
• fake “virus alert” style banners,
• autoplay audio/video,
• or misleading sponsored content.

If the site feels unusable, practical options include:

• enabling stricter browser privacy protections,
• disabling autoplay media,
• using Reader Mode,
• or using a reputable content blocker/privacy extension.

If you ever see ads on a news site that imitate security warnings (“your PC is infected,” “call support now,” etc.), those are generally advertising scams — not actual system alerts.

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