Latest news with #Glidden
Skift
a day ago
- Business
- Skift
Fraudster Scams Event Planner Out of $20K
A scam is exploiting the credibility of big-name brands to defraud event planners. One planner is out nearly $20,000, and she's not alone. A veteran event producer says she lost nearly $20,000 after being targeted by a fraudster posing as a corporate executive planning a launch party. And she has since learned she's not the only one. A man posing as a representative from Glidden Paints reached out to Nirjary Desai, founder of KIS Cubed Events about a corporate event in Atlanta. Glidden was opening a new office in Atlanta, the man claimed, and wanted to throw a party and team-building event. There was a caveat: The company required the use of three 'preferred vendors.' Desai was instructed to pay these vendors directly and she'd be reimbursed. 'I explained I must do my due diligence and speak to each vendor, have them fill out W9s, and receive proper invoices,' Desai told Skift. Each vendor provided invoices, tax documents, and took Desai's calls, a layer of credibility that made the scam more convincing. To pay the vendors, the fraudster would send her $10,000 via credit card. There were multiple declines, but the payment finally appeared to go through and she paid out $9,400 to the 'vendors,' an audio visual company, a photographer, and a singer. Desai needed to see the space where the event would be held but the scammer canceled two site visits at the last minute. Chance Meeting Desai went to the office building anyway, and by coincidence, met another planner in the parking lot: Patricia Stinson, who had received the same lead. The two found the building's security team, who confirmed there was no Glidden Paints office there. She contacted Glidden's corporate office, which said it had no knowledge of an event, and no plans for an Atlanta office. Desai has since reported the incident to Atlanta police and is in contact with Glidden's legal team. Glidden did not respond to a request for comment from Skift. Then she realized a fraudulent $10,000 withdrawal had been taken from her account. A test deposit of one penny — a common step in ACH fraud — had preceded it. The withdrawal went through based on a fraudulent invoice using the bank account information Desai had provided to get set up in the centralized payment system. A second financial loss soon followed.. The initial $10,000 payment that she thought had gone through hadn't actually cleared before she paid vendors. The credit card company told her the fraudster used a stolen card to make the payment. In total, Desai is out nearly $20,000. 'I immediately froze all of our accounts and filed a cybercrime report,' she said. 'Police told me this isn't just fraud. It's a major crime targeting small businesses.' The scammer's fake LinkedIn profile – he went by 'Gregory Mount' – and the vendor websites have been deleted. The URL he had provided was a phishing scheme, Desai has learned. Although it did direct her to the Glidden website, it was designed to steal all of her data, financial information included. A Wider Scam Unfolds In an industry Facebook group, dozens of Atlanta-area planners have reported similar outreach from a Gregory Mount. Some caught the fraud in time. Stinson, the planner Desai met at the office, had not exchanged any funds with Mount. She did waste time though. 'From now on, we'll only take clients via referral. When I asked who referred me, the man gave me a name I didn't recognize. I should have left it at that,' said Stinson. 'But I trusted him and went to the office building to look around.' Another target, Steve Moore, director of special events at Affairs at the Fox, received a similar inquiry from Mount. 'He insisted we would have to process credit card payments in order to get the job,' said Moore. That was a red flag and Moore began digging: 'I couldn't find any Glidden office set to open in Atlanta. I couldn't find Mount on social media and his email was which didn't seem right.' Moore credits his skepticism to his company's weekly security training. 'That made a difference,' he said. Industry on High Alert For Desai, the financial hit is devastating. But the emotional toll is equally painful. 'This is a coordinated attack on our industry,' Desai said. 'They're exploiting trusted brands to gain credibility. We need stronger safeguards, and better brand accountability.' According to the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey, 79% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud last year. The most common method is business email compromise — often through spoofed emails and fake vendor scams like this one. For the events industry, the takeaway is to verify everything: names, domains, projects — and especially payments. In addition, cyber insurance policies usually cover losses caused by phishing attacks. Desai is in talks with her insurance provider about adding this to her coverage.
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Millennial Mom Anxious About Baby's Sleep—Then Finds Her 1993 Crib Video
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Like many millennial parents, a mom from Arkansas spends a lot of time worrying about safe sleep practices for her baby—no pillows, no blankets, no bumpers and certainly no added mattresses in the bassinet. But a recently resurfaced home video from 1993 stopped Erika Glidden in her tracks. In a clip on TikTok, Glidden, 32, shared footage herself as a 2-month-old in her crib—complete with plush bumpers, thick blankets, a pillow and sleeping on her stomach. Footage from 1993 home video; Erika Glidden pictured in a crib surrounded by pillows and blankets. Footage from 1993 home video; Erika Glidden pictured in a crib surrounded by pillows and blankets. @erikaglidden A text overlay on the video reads: "Me: worried about a mattress in my baby's bassinet. Also 2-month-old me in 1993." Glidden told Newsweek she discovered the footage after her mom had a collection of old VHS tapes digitized using the iMemories app. What started as a nostalgic viewing session quickly turned into a hilarious and eye-opening reflection on how parenting norms have evolved. "I was just so shocked to see how much different the sleep practices are now compared to 30 years ago," she said. "[Back then], I was sleeping in a crib in my own room with extra padding, crib bumpers, a comforter and laying on my stomach. No owlet or breathing monitoring system and no baby monitor." Now, Glidden's baby sleeps in a bassinet with a fitted sheet and a sleep sack. "She wears an owlet sock to monitor her breathing and has a camera monitor on her the entire time," she told Newsweek. Today's sleep guidelines, recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), says safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Key recommendations include placing babies on their backs to sleep, using a firm, flat fitted sheet and avoiding soft bedding such as pillows, blankets, crib bumpers or stuffed animals. Glidden's clip has gone viral on TikTok, amassing 4.3 million views and a further 377,000 likes. Thousands of users commented and were equally as shocked as the millennial mom was. Many others weighed in with the parenting practices they were raised with. "My pacifier was tied with a string around my neck," one user wrote. "I literally asked my mom how she got me to sleep through the night and she said, 'Idk [I don't know], I just went off to bed. I was tired,'" another commented. A third user added, "We're honestly built differently. My crib looked similar." "I did not expect it to blow up as much as it did, but I do agree with the majority of the reactions," Glidden told Newsweek. "I think millennials use humor to cope and that has been the majority of the responses, so I have enjoyed reading through them."
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Zillow says these are the best paint colors for selling your home
If you've bought or sold a home in the past, there's a good chance your real estate agent might have told you that clean white walls bring in a higher price than homes with color. Well, times have changed; according to a recent analysis from Zillow, paint colors in 'bold hues found in nature,' such as dark greens and blues, tend to have the best payoff. Christie Cannon, a real estate agent with The Cannon Team at Keller Williams in Frisco, Texas, said, 'We've seen a clear shift toward nature-inspired tones that add cozy, organic warmth. This trend is ideal for selling, because when a home feels warm and inviting, it's easier for buyers to imagine it as their own.'We're not talking a couple of hundred dollars here. Research shows that using these earthy-toned paint colors can increase the sale price of a house by as much as $ 2,590. According to Zillow, the top paint colors to use when selling your home include olive green for the kitchen, dark grays for the living room, navy blue for bedrooms and lighter browns for bathrooms. Some upgrades, like trading out the hardware on your kitchen cabinets and changing out light fixtures, could end up being fairly pricey, but a few cans of paint? Totally doable. 'Paint is a relatively affordable and easy change, yet it has an outsized impact on a buyer's perception of the home,' said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's home trends expert. If you're ready to update the vibe and the profits of your home, here are some of the top exterior and interior paints of 2025: The One Interior & Exterior Matte Green Paint & Primer This rich, forest green hue works well on front doors or in living rooms. It's striking, yet soothing all at once, and being a primer and a paint all in one means it takes less time to get the job done. Kilz Tribute Typewriter Interior Matte Paint & Primer Gray paint has been popular for years, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Go bold with a dark-hued choice as it pops against white trim and molding and works well everywhere from entryways to living rooms. Plus, with this paint and primer combo, you'll only need one coat. RUST-OLEUM Paint Wall in Smoked Navy Whether you worship at the altar of Coastal Living or you tend to lean toward a transitional home design, a deep navy blue will bring out the finer points of your house. It works especially well in bedrooms or dining rooms. Glidden Total Vining Ivy Flat Interior Paint With Primer Vining Ivy was Glidden's color of the year for 2023, and it's just as popular today. A bold choice without being too loud, it invites a calm mood. Glidden Total Interior Wall Paint & Primer All-in-One in All About Olive/Green, Semi-Gloss, 1 Gallon This olive green paint is exactly as Zillow suggests. It offers a rich, earthy feel without being too dramatic, and since it's all-in-one, it won't take too long to paint an entire room. BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Miami Herald
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
‘False and upsetting': RHOM star Lisa Hochstein addresses rumor about her boyfriend
Calm down, Internet. Trolls were out in force Wednesday night after 'Real Housewives of Miami' premiered (and the following day when Peacock streamed it). The cause of the crashout is a a little complicated, naturally. The drama started when Lisa Hochstein, who was throwing a birthday party for boyfriend Jody Glidden at their sprawling apartment, got into an argument with Larsa Pippen. The hostess, 42, accused her costar of 'faking' her breakup with now ex Marcus Jordan for publicity. (Pippen and NBA great Michael Jordan's son dated for about a year and a half, calling it quits in March 2024.) The 50-year-old influencer took offense, saying there was nothing 'fake' about their split, then called her the b-word. Before the situation escalated, Hochstein asked her to leave. WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE 'Where's Jody?' someone yells. As a distraught Pippen gets up to go to the bathroom with Kiki Barth, one of the Housewives yells, 'Where's Jody?!' That's when the cameras pan to a closed door, where two men are speaking inside. One says, 'The AC is so good in here.' Under one fan account's clip of the scene, people were more interested in what went on in that room than the cat fight. Among the comments: 'Okay… AC is the new code word for coke??' 'What's up with Jody ? What was he doing with that guy and the AC?' 'Oh, I missed Miami ... crying at parties, real beef and not them doing coke in the bedroom.' Soon enough, the term 'AC' went viral on various 'RHOM' Instagram pages. After one account called The Real Housewives Zone dedicated an entire post to the matter, Hochstein and Glidden clapped back. 'I can't believe I have to address such ridiculous rumors, but last night's episode was a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened and manipulated editing,' explained the mother of two in the comments. 'Jody and our non-cast friends were hanging out in our primary suite and lounge area, which we use as a common space with friends and family — they were not crowded in some solitary bathroom. Our friends did not want to be filmed, so they sought out privacy in our hangout spot. Any implication beyond that reality is completely false and upsetting.' And for the record, she concluded, 'AC' stands for air conditioning, 'something essential in Miami!' Glidden, a fellow Canadian, also wrote in: 'Sigh… I live in Miami and I'm a grown man. If I were doing that, who cares? It's probably a safe assumption for 50 percent of Miami. It just happens that I'm a fitness fanatic, that barely even drinks.' The tech businessman, 49, went even harder, saying that he'd rather not be in the spotlight at all; hence, why he bailed to a different part of the house. 'The reality is simpler: I don't like being on camera, but I'm dating a reality star, I love her, and that's my life,' Glidden wrote, adding the living room where the ladies were shooting was '95 degrees.' 'Production already said the scene wasn't meant to imply that and that it was added just to explain why I wasn't in the room during the argument. 'Spoiler: I'm barely ever in any group scenes because this isn't my thing. I'm there to support Lisa, not get pulled into chaos.' We reached out to Bravo for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
R.I. Senate committee to consider McKee's latest RIPTA board nominee
Bernard Georges, ounder and executive director of New Bridges for Haitian Success, Inc., was nominated by Gov. Dan McKee to join the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority's board of directors. (Courtesy photo) A Senate panel will give first vetting Thursday to a nominee who could bring racial diversity to the state's quasi-public bus agency. Gov. Dan McKee on May 28 announced his nomination of Bernard Georges to serve on the Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority's (RIPTA) board of directors, citing his professional experience and community ties leading New Bridges for Haitian Success, Inc, a nonprofit that assists Haitian immigrants. Not mentioned in McKee's statement, but crucial to transit advocates and participants, is the diversity Georges' would bring to the nine-member board. 'The board is now mostly, if not entirely, white men,' RI Transit Riders Co-Chair Amy Glidden said in an interview Wednesday. Georges declined to comment on his nomination when reached by phone Wednesday. If approved by the full Senate chamber, Georges would replace former state Sen. Robert Kells, a Providence Democrat who has served on RIPTA's board of directors since 2019. Kells' term expired April 1, 2025 — along with four other members, according to the Rhode Island Secretary of State's website. His nomination will be considered by the Committee on Housing & Municipal Government Thursday afternoon. Board members typically serve a three-year term, but Georges' term would expire April 2027. McKee's office acknowledged an inquiry on the reason for the shorter term but did not send a response as of Wednesday evening. Glidden commended the governor for bringing diversity to the board, which she said has been lacking since the term of Marcy Reyes, who is Puerto Rican, ended April 2024. Heather Schey, who is white, remains the only woman on the board. Nearly 60% of RIPTA riders identified as people of color, according to a 2021 survey of 3,565 bus users. State law calls for 'diverse membership,' but does not address racial or gender diversity outright. Even more important to Glidden than race was board representation of transit riders. State law mandates the board include at least one regular fixed-route rider and one person with a disability. Schey is a user of RIPTA's paratransit service, while James Leach is a regular fixed-route rider. Glidden also would have liked for the governor to give riders a say before making his nomination. 'There's been no public input,' she said. Georges immigrated to Rhode Island in 2000 at age 16 from Haiti, joining his father, who had already fled the island nation years earlier during the dictatorship of Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc'' Duvalier. He graduated from Central High School in Providence in 2004 and received an associate's degree in law enforcement at the Community College of Rhode Island, along with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in public administration from Roger Williams University. In 2013, Georges founded New Bridges for Haitian Success, which supports immigrants through job training, case management, counseling, and obtaining health care. He also worked for the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families as a residential counselor, according to the governor's office. 'Bernard is a dedicated community leader who has spent his career helping others find pathways to a successful future,' McKee said in a statement. RIPTA CEO Chirstopher Durand welcomed Georges' addition to the board. 'His commitment to equity, experience supporting underserved communities, and proven ability to build bridges between people and resources make him an excellent addition,' Durand said in a statement. Georges' nomination comes as RIPTA faces an estimated $32.6 million shortfall heading into the fiscal year beginning July 1. McKee did not offer any state funds for the cash-strapped bus agency in his recommended budget, citing a not-yet-completed study into RIPTA's operations. RIPTA's efficiency study is a third of the way there An efficiency study was required by Gov. Dan McKee and the General Assembly as a condition in last year's state budget to plug the agency's deficit. The report was initially due March 1. As of May 30, Canadian-headquartered engineering consulting firm WSP is two-thirds finished with the overdue assessment, publishing a 20-page draft report on RIPTA's transit operations. The initial report found that routes with limited connections to dense neighborhoods tend to have lower ridership due to their lower demand. Legislators have proposed their own measures to close RIPTA's deficit. That includes legislation that would put a $100 million transit bond on the 2026 ballot and upping the agency's share of the gas tax. Sen. Meghan Kallman, a Pawtucket Democrat who sits on the eight-member Senate Committee on Housing & Municipal Government, proposed adding a new tax on Uber and Lyft rides to fund mass transit. 'The board deserves to manage an agency that is properly funded,' Kallman said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
