The students find the scholarships to be a reflection of their hard work.

DENTON (UNT), Texas – Victoria Williams, Shekinah Colson and Martina Martinez, all current students enrolled in University of North Texas College of Health and Public Service’s Department of Criminal Justice degree programs, were awarded scholarships.

Victoria Williams, set to be a senior in fall 2019, is a recipient of the J. Edgar Hoover Scholarship. For her, the scholarship is an honor that proves hard work reaps success.

“I have worked hard throughout my college life by maintaining above a 3.5 GPA and being involved on campus to be able to be considered for prestigious awards and scholarships,” Williams said. “Being awarded this scholarship proved to me that hard work and late nights of studying pays off.”

Williams has always wanted to serve the community and was involved with the Tyler Police Department Youth Explorers during high school.

 “The reason I chose criminal justice is because I’ve always had a desire to serve the community to ensure justice is carried out in the criminal justice system,” Williams said. “During high school, my favorite organization I was a part of was the Tyler Police Department Youth Explorers. I had the pleasure of serving as a Tyler PD Explorer for two years. This program gave me more insight of my future in the criminal justice field.”

Shekinah Colson, currently working as a senior research associate within the Center for Human Identification at the UNT Health Science Center, is a recipient of the Tory J. Caeti Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship to her is a symbol of her hard work.

“Receiving this scholarship means everything to me,” Colson said. “Being a mother of three who works full time and takes classes, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed. Even though I know the collective efforts will add up some day to make a real difference in the lives of others, sometimes it feels like it is such a small drop in the bucket compared to the incredible need for people to dedicate their hearts and passion to the criminal justice field. Receiving this recognition is a form of support and encouragement that makes me feel like I’m finally finding my feet.”

Colson found the criminal justice degree as a way to expand her understanding of law enforcement.

“I felt like I had gaps in my knowledge of law enforcement policies and procedures,” Colson said. “I appreciate everything law enforcement does for us and recognized my need for a deeper understanding of their role. I knew that this degree would allow me insights into future strategic planning for process improvement and to identify more ways that we can provide valuable services to those who are exploited, lost, abused and hurt.”

Martina Martinez, currently a junior, was a recipient of the Jacob Andrew Fritsch Scholarship. She says the scholarship is changing her life.

“Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me because I come from a middle class family that struggles every day in order for me to be able to go to college,” Martinez said. “This scholarship contributes to me fulfilling my dream of going to college and continuing with my studies.”

Martinez hopes that through her hard work, she can inspire others.

“I chose criminal justice as my major because I want to be a police officer so I can serve the community and become a role model to other younger people,” Martinez said. “Also, I want people to know that with hard work and dedication dreams are able to be achieved.”

Dr. Neale Chumbler, dean of the college, says he’s always thrilled to see students succeed.

“Victoria and Shekinah are both incredibly accomplished and very deserving of these scholarships,” Dr. Chumbler said. “I can’t wait to see what these bright individuals achieve not only while at UNT, but once they graduate and embark on their careers in criminal justice.”

The product is expected to make big changes in preventing credit card fraud.

DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas UNT Cyber Forensics Technology Lab, headed by Dr. Scott Belshaw, associate professor in the College of Health and Public Service Department of Criminal Justice, has recently filed for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a credit card skimmer detection wand. The product, developed by Dr. Belshaw and Michael Saylor, president of Cyber Defense Labs, is expected to have a major impact on preventing credit card fraud.

Credit card fraud has been occurring more frequently at gas stations and ATMs, with criminals inserting skimmer devices into machines that read a card’s expiration date, security code and 16-digit card number once it is swiped. The information is then sent via Bluetooth to the nearby criminal who will sell the victim’s information on the dark web.

The skimmer detection wand will be a small, handheld device that can detect that Bluetooth signal and warn users of the skimmer device in the machine using a simple, color-coded screen. If the wand picks up a skimmer device, the screen will turn red. A yellow screen indicates that the card reader is questionable and a green screen means no skimmer device is detected. Dr. Belshaw says this technology is ideal for fraud defense.

“The technology we’ve developed will allow business owners to perform daily scans as a proactive measure against credit card skimmers and will provide consumers with peace of mind,” Dr. Belshaw said. “It will allow businesses to assure their customers that they can detect skimmers before a credit card is captured and their valuable information has been compromised.”

The device is also expected to revolutionize police investigations. Plans include technology that will allow the police department to extract information from the wand that will not only enable them to notify victims that their card has been compromised, but allow them to track the criminal who placed the skimmer device.

Dr. Belshaw is working on the skimmer wand in the UNT Cyber Forensics Technology Lab with a group of UNT Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS) students who know the technology well.

“They understand the computer science and coding side of things,” Dr. Belshaw said. “So, if I tell them I need to achieve a specific task or I need a certain type of software, they’ll just sit down and make it happen. Having their level of intelligence and skill is invaluable.”

Dr. Neale Chumbler, dean of the college, says he’s impressed with the development of the technology and looks forward to seeing the impact this device has on the detection of credit card skimmers.

“I applaud Dr. Belshaw for taking the initiative to address such a growing threat to identity theft,” Dr. Chumbler said. “Criminals have been able to place these devices far too easily and prey on innocent victims for far too long. The fact that this technology will allow business owners to protect us from cybercrime and that it will revolutionize the way investigators can track these thieves will have an incredible impact on society.”

While the product is in the beginning stages of development, Dr. Belshaw says it’s showing great promise and he hopes to have a prototype to test soon.

“We are excited to work with Dr. Belshaw as he develops and refines this technology,” said Michael Rondelli, associate vice president of innovation and commercialization at UNT who manages the intellectual property developed by UNT faculty and staff. “It addresses a growing need across multiple industries that will provide protection to consumers while allowing companies to drive new sales.”