WO2004079499A2

WO2004079499A2 - System and method for verifying user identity

Info

Publication number: WO2004079499A2
Application number: PCT/IL2004/000224
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tomer Eden; Michael Eden
Original assignee: Tomer Eden; Michael Eden
Priority date: 2003-03-05
Filing date: 2004-03-04
Publication date: 2004-09-16
Also published as: WO2004079499A3

Abstract

The present invention is decision supporting systems and methods for authenticating users' requests which may be used to prevent the processing of fraudulent secure procedures. The system and method verifies user identity by verifying the user presence at the place of transaction. Specifically, the present invention may help evaluate the authenticity of users' requests at the time of a transaction approval by comparing the location of the transaction request with the location of a wireless network entity associated with an authorized user. According to the present invention the geographic location of a mobile network device, which is known to be carried by the user, is compared with the geographic location from which the request is initiated. The mobile network device may be, for example, a cellular phone, PDA, laptop or a designated device. The request may include financial transactions, physical or electronic access requests and the like.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VERIFYING

USER IDENTITY

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for verifying user

identity and, more particularly, to systems and methods which rely upon

comparison of at least two sets of location information for verifying user identity.

In the modern world it is often necessary or desirable to restrict access to a

resource to one or more authorized users. For example access to resources such

as physical facilities, information databases and accounts is typically restricted to

specific users. Authorization of users is most often accomplished by use of access

codes such as a personal identification number (PIN), a user name or passwords or

a combinations thereof, or tangible media such as a key, a credit card, a debit card

or an ID card.

Access codes are prone to theft and/or fraudulent use because they are

easily transferred or intercepted. In many cases, an authorized user may be

unaware that their PIN code has been intercepted by another and is being used for

unauthorized access.

Tangible media is slightly better than access codes because a user is more

likely to notice the absence of tangible media if it is lost or stolen. However, tangible

media is susceptible to unauthorized duplication and forgery. Typically, a bearer of

tangible media is not challenged when requesting access to a resource, this means that possession grants full access.

Further, in the case of credit/debit cards, information imprinted on the

media such as account number and expiration date may suffice for purposes of a

telephone or internet transaction.

Known in the art are several location based user authentication systems.

US Patent No. 6,097,938, for example, discloses a system and a method for

determine whether the mobile unit is a fraudulent user of the cellular

communication network. Every time the cellular terminal is used, the system

receives an identification number for a mobile unit as well as a location code. The

system then compares the current location code with a previously received

location code. Given that there are natural physical constraints on how quickly a

mobile unit can move from one location to another, the system can thereby

determine if there are two mobile units using the same identification number. This

system may only prevent the duplication of cellular terminals, based on location

information, and the authentication process may only occur when the user initiates

a call.

PCT Patent Application No. 9641488 describes a system for detecting

fraud on electronic networks. This system records the geographical location of the

network terminal every time it is used. A single user may have several network

terminals, all carrying the same identification code (SIN number). The system then

checks if by dividing the geographic distance between every two sequential uses

of the terminal of a single user, by the time elapsed between them, exceeds a

reasonable ground speed limitation predetermined by the system administrators. As with the patent described above, this invention performs passive location

verifications and depends on two sequential logins of the user to validate the user

identification.

There is thus a need for systems and methods for actively verifying user

identity while approving a transaction, in real time, devoid of the above limitation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The system and method verifies user identity by verifying the user presence at the

place of transaction. The verification is carried out by locating his or her associated

traceable device. A system for authenticating a user request for processing secure

procedure, said system comprised of means for receiving user request for secure

procedure including a tentative identification of a specific user; means for detecting

a first location from which the request originates; means for active detection of a

second location at which at least one wireless device associated with said specific

user is located. Said first location and said second iocation are compared in order

to produce a proximity indicator. The system also includes logic means for

evaluating authentication level of the request for the secure procedure in

accordance with said proximity indicator and at least one predetermined rule. The

said first location is detected by evaluation of at least one identifying information

detail and the wireless device is selected from the group consisting of cellular

telephones an alpha numeric pager and a dedicated user tracking device.

The proximity indicator is determined as the distance between said first location and said second location. Either of the locations may be defined as an exact

point or as an area. The secure procedure may be, for example, a credit card

payment transaction or an accessing an electronic information resource request.

The request is originated by a designated terminal and the detection of the first

location is based on defined lookup table including information of different

designated terminals locations. The system also includes means for creating and

editing said lookup table, wherein the designated terminal location are

determined according to prior secure procedures activities associated with said

terminal wherein said activities location are identified according to associated

wireless devices. The wireless devices are associated with identified users

according to updated look up table correlating between users ID and their

wireless devices, which are designated for the authentication process.

A method for authenticating a user request for processing a secure procedure is

comprised of the following steps: receiving user request for secure procedure

including a tentative identification of a specific user; detecting a first location from

which the request originates; actively detecting of a second location at which at

least one wireless device associated with said specific user is located; and

comparing said first location and said second location to produce a proximity

indicator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the

drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of

example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred

embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of

providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood

description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this

regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more

detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the

description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art

how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the system' s principal components according to the

preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the authorization algorithm according to the preferred

embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the managing vendors' location lookup table algorithm

according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is decision supporting systems and methods for

authenticating users' requests which may be used to prevent the processing of

fraudulent secure procedures. Specifically, the present invention may help evaluate

the authenticity of users' requests at the time of a transaction approval by comparing the location of the transaction request with the location of a wireless

network entity associated with an authorized user. Comparison between locations

may also be subsequent thereto. The principles of operation of systems and

methods according to the present invention may be better understood with

reference to the drawings and accompanying descriptions.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to

be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of

construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following

description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention may include other

embodiments and may be practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be

understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose

of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

The term "user" as employed in this specification and the accompanying

claims may refer to an individual or to a group of individuals. For purposes of this

specification and the accompanying claims the term "account" refers to any

calculation of monetary indebtedness. This definition specifically includes, but is

not limited to, a credit card account, a bank account and a customer account with a

commercial entity (e.g. line of credit).

For purposes of this specification and the accompanying claims, the term

processing secure procedure should be construed in its broadest possible sense.

Secure procedures may include the authorizing of physical access such as, for

example, opening of a gate, door, or lock, or electronic procedures such as, for

example, and access to stored data and/or an account belonging to specific user. Electronic secure procedure specifically includes, but is not limited to, electronic

funds transfers.

According to the preferred embodiments of the invention the user uses at

least one locatable device, which may be, for example, a cellular telephone, an

alpha numeric pager or a dedicated user tracking device. For purposes of this

specification and the accompanying claims, the term "cellular telephone"

includes devices which have cellular telephone capabilities such as, personal

digital assistants (PDAs) and portable computers as well as devices which have

cellular telephonic communication as their primary function. Further included in

this definition are satellite mobile phones which perform a similar function. A

dedicated user tracking device might work, for example by GPS or GSM

technology and could be assigned to a user for purposes of function of system by,

for example, a financial institution or an employer. Such a dedicated device

would preferably be small and unobtrusive so that the user would habitually

carry it. A dedicated user tracking device might be incorporated into a functional

and necessary item such as, for example a wrist-watch or a key.

Figure 1 is an illustration of the main components of a decision supporting

system for authenticating a user request before processing secure procedure in

accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In order to

perform the authentication of the user holding the credit card 102 (person A) before

processing a secure procedure, such as approving a credit card payment, the

system locates the position of a wireless network means, such as a mobile phone

101 , which is associated with the user (person B), The system then compares the position of person A and the location of person B to produce a proximity indicator.

According to the analysis of this proximity indicator the system decides whether to

produce an approval or a rejection recommendation of the user authentication

procedure.

Once the user initiates a payment approval procedure the system' s user

authentication process commences. As with standard purchases via a credit card,

the user 102 may communicate with the vendor 130 directly, provided that the

purchase is carried out in person, or via other communication medium such as the

phone or the Internet, and the vendor 130 communicates with the credit transaction

server 150 via an authentication layer 140. In cases when the purchase is performed

in person the location of person A is identical to the location of the vendor 130. For

purchases done via remote communication means the location of person A is

automatically acquired by the vendor terminal 130. The system holds and constantly

updates the location of all relevant vendors 130 in any given area. The process of

acquiring and updating the lists of vendors' locations is described below.

The credit card terminal 150 then communicates with the authentication

server 160. The Server 160 is designed and configured to receive an

authentication request including the identification of person A. Server 160 is

further designed and configured to ascertain a location for person A from

which the request originates. Acquiring this location may be accomplished, for

example, by comparing data contained in a request (e.g. unique identification

number, phone number or IP address) with a data directory. Thus, the system, as

detailed hereinabove preferably further includes stored data 165 of the server 160 to facilitate ascertaining the location of person A from whom the request

originates. This directory may include data correlating locations to, for example,

unique identification numbers (e.g. vendor numbers), phone numbers or portions

thereof (e.g. area codes) or IP addresses or portions thereof.

In order to ascertain the location of person B the server commences a

locating process in order to find the position of the locatable device 101 which

is associated with the identity of person A as registered in database 165. The

system therefore farther includes identifying at least one locatable device 101

associated with specific user (person A) by means of a look-up table stored in

memory 165 of server 160. Preferably location of person A is provided as a

location at the time of the request, although a location of device 101 from shortly

before or shortly after the time of the request can be also used. Method 80 further

includes comparing 32 first location 36 and second location 37 to produce a

proximity indicator.

In order to acquire the location of person B the authenticating sever 160

sends a locating query to the cellular network 190. Preferably, the proximity

indicator produced by the comparison of locations of person A and person

B is expressed as a distance. In some cases, it may be advantageous to

define these locations as an area if the ascertaining of either of those

locations is characterized by a low degree of accuracy. According to the

preferred embodiments of the invention, a decision about whether to

authorize a request is made by the server 160 by evaluating the proximity

indicator according to a predetermined rule. Once the server 160 analyses the proximity of the two locations and reaches

an authorization conclusion the authorizing server 160 informs the credit transaction

server 150, which in turn informs the vender 130.

Following is a description of the authorization algorithm, which is illustrated in

figure 2, as it is conducted by the server 160. The server 160 receives the

authorization request 210 which include the identity of the card holder, the details of

his or her locatable mobile device and the identity of the vendor. The server then

proceeds with locating the position of the user' s mobile device 220 and searching

the vendors' lookup table for the details of the vendor 225. The status of a

vendors' location may be verified or unverified. Verified vendors are vendors

which are well known to the system and their details have been checked. The

procedure of handling new and unverified vendors is described below. Assuming

that the vendor' s details are verified its location is retrieved from the list. Having

obtained the two locations the system compares them and the proximity indicator is

calculated 240. The proximity indicator is then examined to determine the validity of

the request 245, and having determined, an approval 260 or denial 250

recommendation of the transaction is sent back 270.

If the proximity indicator is expressed as a distance d, the rule may take the

form of "Approve request if d < a predetermined distance." If, for instance

location 102 is defined as an area A and location 101 is defined as a point P

the rule may be formulated as "Approve request if P is in A." In case both

locations 101 , 102 are defined as areas A and A ' respectively the rule may be

phrased as "Approve request if A and A Overlap." As mentioned above, the authentication server 160 holds and constantly

updates a lookup table of the location of all possible vendors in a specific area in

database 165. Following is a description of the method for managing this lookup

table for unverified vendors as, illustrated in figure 3. As a new authentication

request is received by the server 310 the unique vendor ID is searched for in the

lists of existing vendors 320. If the vendor is found in the list and its location is

verified the authentication procedure proceeds as described above. If the vendor

is not found in the list, the location of the cellular device is registered as the

location of the new vendor in the vendors' lookup list 340, and the authentication

process terminates with no approval or denial results 380.

In case the vendor exists in the lookup table of known vendors, the system

compares the registered location of the vendor and the location of the cellular

device 335. If the locations match authentication is approved 370 and the approval

recommendation is sent back to the credit transaction server 150. In case the

locations do not match the system checks the distance between them 355. If they

are found to be in close proximity the definition of the location of the vendor may

be updated to include the new location 365 and the authentication is approved

370. If the distance between vendor' s location and the location of the cellular

device is found to be substantial the authentication is denied and the denial is sent

back to the credit transaction server 50.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for the

purpose of clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be

provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single

embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific

embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and

variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to

embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit

and broad scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents and patent

applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety

by reference into the specification, to the same extent as if each individual

publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to

be incorporated herein by reference. In addition, citation or identification of any

reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such

reference is available as prior art to the present invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A system for authenticating a user request for

processing secure procedure, said system comprised of:

(a) means for receiving user request for secure procedure

including a tentative identification of a specific user;

(b) means for detecting a first location from which the

request originates;

(c) means for active detection of a second location at

which at least one wireless device associated with said specific user

is located; and

(d) compare said first location and said second location to

produce a proximity indicator.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising ;

(e) logic means for evaluating authentication level of the

request for the secure procedure in accordance with said proximity

indicator and at least one predetermined rule.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said first location is

detected by evaluation of at least one identifying information detail.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said wireless device is selected from the group consisting of cellular telephones an alpha

numeric pager and a dedicated user tracking device.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said proximity indicator

is a distance between said first location and said second location.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein at the said first

location and said second location are defined as an area.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the secure procedure

is a credit card payment transaction.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the secure procedure

is a procedure for accessing an electronic information resource.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the request is

originated by a designated terminal and the detection of the first

location is based on defined lookup table including information of

different designated terminals locations.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising means for

creating and editing said lookup table, wherein the designated

terminal location are determined according to prior secure procedures activities associated with said terminal wherein said

activities location are identified according to associated wireless

devices.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless devices

are associated with identified users according to updated look up

table correlating between users ID and their wireless devices,

which are designated for the authentication process.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the authentication

process is applied to a group of users.

13. A method for authenticating a user request for

processing a secure procedure, said method comprising the steps

of:

(a) receiving user request for secure procedure including a tentative

identification of a specific user;

(b) detecting a first location from which the request originates;

(c) actively detecting of a second location at which at least one

wireless device associated with said specific user is located; and

(d) comparing said first location and said second location to produce

a proximity indicator.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of

evaluating authentication level of the request for the secure

procedure in accordance with said proximity indicator and at least

one predetermined rule.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein said first location is

detected by evaluation of at least one identifying information.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein said wireless device is

selected from the group consisting of cellular telephones an alpha

numeric pager and a dedicated user tracking device.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein said proximity

indicator is a distance between said first location and said

second location.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein at the said first

location and said second location is defined as an area.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the secure

procedure is a credit card payment transaction.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the secure

procedure is a procedure for accessing an electronic information information resource.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein the request is

originated by a designated terminal and the detection of the first

location is based on defined lookup table including information of

different locations of designated terminals.

22. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of

creating and editing said lookup table, wherein the designated

terminal locations are determined according to prior secure

procedures activities associated with said terminal wherein said