GB2446835A - A verification system which uses a biometric voice signature in combination with standard identification checks that may be derived from third party data. - Google Patents

Abstract

System and method to counter fraud and abuse of transactions through provision of a facility for registration of an identity which captures a voice from which it creates and appends to the identity record a biometric voice signature, incorporating validation checks against the identity, and subsequently a facility which can be accessed as a means of identity verification by biometric voice signature comparison.

Description

System and Method for Providing an Enhanced identity Registry with

Biometric signature When any services and goods are ordered / purchased, service providers usually require some form of password or PIN to verify the identity of the customer. This has become particularly relevant as transactions are increasingly now remote, such as telqthooe bankiiig, 3j]51 friditig. / baieflt / pension registration c purchases. However with such transactions there is a hetghtned risk that the person requesting the transaction is not the person they say they are. It could be that the person is using someone else's debit/credit card details to purchas&pay for something without consan so committing payment fraud, or the person could have stolen the identity of someone else, so committing identity fraud. Alternatively, a person may be who they say they are, but then renege on this at a later date, denying they were ever involved in the fransactioi This invention provides a method for registering individuals along with a biometric signature, and thai subsequently confirming the idaithy of an individual by comparison with this biometric signatuze It is the object of this invention to introduce a central repositoty which provides ciIities to register a biometric voice signature ginst an identity, which in turn is vetted itgn1t analysis from appropriate third party derived files, of the relevant co.nty, hosted, maintained and processed under 11*11 guidance and compliance of European leRJIltion and best practice. Once successfully registered, the sigture and any security details are appended to that person's recthd in the identity database, and the recotd is then available to service providers to verify a customer's identity using their biometric signature.

The present system will introduce the possibility of two factor identification for service providers who hold traditional security information in house, without the need to develop their own biometric registration and verification facility. The present system also has the option of registering other relevant security information geinat the identity thus introducing Mi two factor idaitifllio for service providers who do net held, or do not wish to use, any traditional security information in house. The present system also offers additional security to service providers through confirmation of instructions, whereby the customer is identified and the service provider protected from any possible future denial from the customer that they were involved in the trisaclion. The present system also incorporates a complete analysis of existing customer files to subscribing service providers for deceased, movers, and even potentially fraudulent identities. The present system is also not limited by languagej and as such provides security to ethnic minorities as well as consumers across multiple countries. The present system has the option to store activity agpinit idaitities, including a verification request and result audit trail and any other activities required by service providers, such as crimin2l activity. The present system will also share intelligence of identities involved in failed reglstrtionJvijj *Us among subscribed service provideua in total compliance with privacy regul'lioas, and prefeibIy will share intelligence of suspected fraud through membership of the appropriate and available fraud prevention associations in each countiy.

The system and method will now be described in detail with reference to the following drawings: Pigure I is a diagram the initial registration process Figure 21s a diagram of the completion of the registration process Figure 3 is a diagram of the verification process In figure 1, a registration is submitted (1) by an individual uiing a multi-lingual enabled, seoure website provided for this purpose on the internet To initiate this registration the applicant t)P in their name, home address, including country, and a numeric password, or PIN, of their choice, all of which will be format verified by the website before being sent to the CIR (Central Identity RegIstry). (2) Ii the process of verifying the existence of the identity against the available industry files (A, B, C ate) including residency, deceased, and gone away files of the appropriate country (A, B etc), whilst also checking that this identity has not already been registered on the CIR or has had attempted but ilcd registration(s); any such history IgRinet the identity will entail additional vetting before registration can resume. A succesafiul application will create a now entry in the CIR for this identity and the CIR will inform the applicant (3) by way of an on screen nssap which will invite the applicant to call a telephone number quoting a specific enrollment number. Unguccesaflul applications will be logged on the CIR and the applicant informed by way of an on screen message with appropriate guidance.

Intelligence of any such iled applications will be stored and shared appropriately with subscribed service providere under foil compliance with privacy regulations. The succesaflul applicant will call (4) the Mztcmated Telephone System (ATS) which will jnug for the enrollment number, and then the numeric password, or PIN. These details will be verified eg'in,t the record held on CIR (5) and if mRtched, the applicant will be pnimjjted to provide a sample of their voice saying a particular phrase of their choice.

The applicant will be peotcd to repeat this phrase several times, and each time the phrase is recorded and passed through Voice Verification System (VVS) (6), which is a system built around biometric voice verification Software, to produce, store and compare voice signatures for registration and verification exercises. After a defined number of repeats of the pbrase the VVS will compare the signatures and if they nh within a dflned tolerance, the signatures will be stored (7) against the record in the CIR. A final step is to consult (8) any anti-fraud associated flies (A, B etc) in the appropriate country (A,B etc) of residence to ensure this identity is not highlighted with suspected fraudulent use, and to assess the accommodo,i for historical high residency churn The result of such a check will be stored g'inst the record in the CIR and the registration suspended if there is any cause for concern.

In another embodiment of the invention, the registration process in figure 1 step (1) will also include the option for the applicant to submit other relevant personal security information to be stored alongside their biometric signature. The registration then continues as shown in figure 1.

In another embodjmj of the invention, the registration process in figure 1 step (I) will take place via a swipe cud issued to the applicant and passed through a magnetic reader, the swipe card containing the relevant details as would be keyed in using a standard Internet registration. The registration then continues as shown in figure 1 with the telephone number to be called being co1nmimjca on see if availab1e or in writing if no In another embodiment of the Invention, the registrat ion process in figure 1 step (5) will prompt the applicant to repeat a particular generic phrase rather than a phrase of their choice. The cstofthere stepis asahowninfigure 1.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the legistration process in figure 1 from step (5) will not pruzn the applicant to repeal any phrase but instead capture natural speech to pass through the VVS (6) which incorporates text-independe voice verification software. The rest of the registration both prior to and after these steps is as shown in figure!.

In figure 2, the registration is continued when the CIR generates a mailing file (1) of new registrations which have successiWly completed the process in figure 1. Lctte are sent to the borne address of the individual whose identity has been registered (2) inviting them to call a specific phone number to complete the registration process. This phone call will connect them to the ATS (3) which will prompt for the enrollment number and numeric password or PIN. These details will be verified against the record held on CIR (4) and if mltch.d, the applicant will be p,1od to provide a sample of their voice saying the same phiase they used in the process in figure 1. The phrase is recorded and then passed through the VVS (5) which generates the voice signature and compares it against the signatures submitted in the figure! by pulling these from the CIR storage against the identity (6). If the signature ma*ches within a defined tolerance then the signature will be stored (7) in the CIR alongside the other signatures from the applicant and the registration will be flagged as complete. A final step is to append to (8) any anti-fraud associated files (A, B etc) in the appropriate couniry (A, B etc) suspected fraudulent activity, which will be identified after a defined number of failed registration completion ftA for defined reasons.

In another embodim of the invention, the registration process is available to service providers who subscribe to enroll their customer base. Initiation of the registration in the approach to the customer will be bespoke to the requirement of the individual service provider though usually an initial mass import will take place of the name and address details from the service providers custon base to the CIR, which will incorporate the process as shown in figure 1 step (2) of verifying the existence of the identity against the available industry files (A, B, C etc) including residency, deceased, and gone away files of the appropriate country (A, B etc), whilst also checking that each identity has not already been registered on the CIR. Any customers failing these checks will be reported back to the service provider far their own relevant Investigation. At the end of the mass registration process, each customer of the service provider will have an entry in the CIR and correspondiig1y an enrollment number which will be ccmmunica along with instnictions to the customer by the service provider, in a manner of their cboice allowing airolImit of the voice to be completed either as shown in figure 1 steps 5-8, and then figure 2, or in a bespoko process requiring the custon to mlre only one phone call to register their voice as agreed with the service provider. Alternatively, services providers subscribing to the service will invite their customers to register in the way shown in figure 1, quoting a code which will tic them back to the service provider within the resnitant C record.

In figure 3, the service provider (SF) and customer are gaged in a transaction (1) for which additional verification of the customer's identity is required. Precisely how that transaction is carried out and what prior identity checks are niRde is at the discretion of the individual SF, however the SF will enable the use of the biometric verification through the present system by assigning a unique reference number to their customer comprising a pro-determined code preflx, which uniquely identifies the SF, and a unique order number. Generation of the unique order number Is under the mnnRgmajt and therefle discretion of the SF. Along with this reference number, the customer is given the telephone number to call for verification. This telephone number will di from that for the registration processes. The customer will call the number which will connect them to the ATS (2) which will then prompt them for the reference number the SF provided.

This number will be verified ig,in.t the CIR (3) to check the prefix is linked to a known SF. Any numbers ftillng this check will be reported to the customer with the advice to contact their SF. With a number that has a recognized SF prefix, the customer will be pompted to say the phrase they registered with the service The phrase is recorded and passed through the VVS (4) which generates the voice signature and compares it against the signatures submitted dm4v,g registration(s) An output is communicated to the appropriate SF through a pro-agreed, established data link including the unique reference and outcome of the verification process. A final step is to append to (7) any anti-hud associated files (A, B ctc) in the appropriate country (A,B ctc) suspected fraudulent activity, which will be identified after a defined number of failed verification aia for defined reasons.

In another embodiment of the invention, at the time of assigning a unique refice number to the customer, as in figure 3 stage (l) the SF will feed this to the CIR through an established data link. The process will then continue as in figure 3, with the additional checkatse(3)thatthe,, uwdllastheprefix, isvalid.

In another embodiment of the invention, at the timc of assigning a unique reference nuflthertOthetrausaction,asinflgn3 stage(1)theSPwillfeedthiatothedngh a pie-agreed established data link along with the pre-determJned security information they have gathered during the transaction. The process will then continue as in figure 3, with the additional check at stage (3) that the order number, as well as the prefix, is valid, and that the security information matches that held againtt the identity record.

In another eflibodiment of the invention, the verification process in figure 3 stage (4) will also pn*npt the customer to provide additional security information through use of the telephone keypad to spell the relevant words, where not numeric, and the security iufogniat ion will be checked that it matches against that held agiint the identity record.

The rest of the registration both prior to and after this step is as shown in figure 3.

In another enibodjm of the invent ion, the verification process in figure 3 stage (4) will also prompt the customer to provide additional security information vetbally and this will be passed through speech recognition software within the VVS to establish the actual words spoken, and these will tl be checked against the security information held in the cm. The rest of the registration both prior to and after this step is as shown in figure 3 In yat another embodiment of the invention, the verificatjoi, process in figure 3 stage (4) will use a sampling of the customer's free speech to pass through the VVS which incorporates tet-indep voice verification software. The rest of the registration bothprorto inflgure3. I,

Claims (4)

1. Claims 1. A facility to register, and subsequently verify, an identity

   using biometric voice signature incorporating validation checks against analysis of third party derived information.
2. 2. A facility according to claim I in which other security details surrounding an identity are registered and stored alongside the biometric voice signature.
3. 3. A facility according to any of the previous claims which stores an audit trail of activity and informaijon against registered identities.
4. 4. A facility according to any of the proceeding claims which is not limited by language or participating European country of residence. * ** * * * S... * . *1** S... * . ***S

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