Tegna’s WPMT scammed viewers and not only did they do, but they also put it on their air for everyone to watch and see.

Reporter Jackie De Tore basically gave the people a how-to video guide to show just how easy it was to get viewers to give up their private information and social security number.

De Tore showed how easy it was for scammers to gain the information by calling people up and acting as they were health contract tracers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Posing as a healthcare worker De Tore and an Executive Producer at the station called people, whose names were given to them by co-workers and tried to get their personal information.

De Tore even laughed as one guy on the phone started to read off his social security number.

The idea of the story was to show viewers how scammers work, but when the station themselves started posing as healthcare workers and conducted their own “scam” it is there that they crossed the line.

Also, the story came off as a “how-to” for anyone that was watching and have some bad intentions.

So, remember folks, be careful when you answer your phone.

It could be a scammer, or maybe just the local Tegna station calling to try and get your private information and laugh at you.

Maybe next week the station and pose as police and see if they can snatch your kids off the playground?

Here is the story the station did….