Recipient verification

• US 10,560,412 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2016
• Issued: 02/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Smith, Andrew Nicholas Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazaro, David R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shitayewoldetadik, Berhanu
• Application Number:
  US15/273,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20180091455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 709206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

Recipient verification converses computation resources, reduces network bandwidth and reduces the amount of user input required for generating email messages that include personal salutations that are matched to the recipient'"'"'s proper title, style, or honorific. The email addresses are associated with a number of recipients, gender-specific markers in names within a salutation, internal and external data sources using the email addresses (e.g., an enterprise contact server, a social network), and historical salutations to determine whether the salutation in an email message is correct for a given recipient or group of recipients. In response to detecting that the sender has not used an appropriate salutation, recipient verification is operable to suggest an appropriate salutation to a user for approval, or to automatically substitute an appropriate salutation for an inappropriate salutation in various aspects.

Claims

1. A method for providing recipient verification, comprising:

receiving, at an email client executing on a computing device, a draft of an email message addressed to a recipient, wherein the email message includes an email address and a salutation; and

in response to receiving an indication to send the email message, and prior to transmitting the email message;

identifying, by the email client, the email address in the email message;

identifying, by the email client, the salutation in the email message, wherein the salutation includes an honorific associated with a name of the recipient;

determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address by verifying one or more of a gender of the honorific and a type of the honorific is appropriate for the recipient;

when the salutation is verified, transmitting, by the email client, the email message;

when the salutation is not verified, providing, by the email client, a notification to prompt correction of the salutation prior to transmitting the email message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing, by the email client, the notification further comprises:

displaying one or more verified salutations associated with the email address;

receiving a selection of one of the one or more verified salutations;

updating the email message to include the selected verified salutation; and

sending the updated email message with the selected verified salutation.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the email client, a request to perform recipient verification.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the request to perform recipient verification further comprises receiving, at the email client, a selection of a control function to initiate the recipient verification.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address further comprises accessing a data source that includes additional contact information relating to one or more of the email address and the salutation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address further comprises accessing a global library that identifies a plurality of salutations, names, and nicknames to determine whether the salutation is verified for the email address.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address further comprises accessing a user-defined library that identifies a plurality of user-defined salutations associated with one or more email addresses.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user-defined library stores the plurality of user-defined salutations associated with the one or more email addresses that were identified in email messages previously sent.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address further comprises parsing previously received email messages for salutations associated with the email address.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address further comprises interrogating third-party data sources to identify salutations associated with the email address.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the third-party data sources include social media networks.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address further comprises:

accessing a data source that includes additional contact information relating to the email address or the salutation; and

determining a masculinity attribute or a femininity attribute relating to the email address or the salutation.

13. A system for providing recipient verification, comprising:

a processing unit; and

a memory including computer readable instructions, which when executed by the processing unit, causes the system to be operable to;

receive, at an email client executing on a computing device, a draft of an email message addressed to a recipient, wherein the email message includes an email address and a salutation; and

in response to receiving an indication to send the email message, and prior to transmitting the email message;

identify, by the email client, the email address in the email message;

identify, by the email client, the salutation in the email message, wherein the salutation includes an honorific associated with a name of the recipient;

determine, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address by verifying one or more of a gender of the honorific and a type of the honorific is appropriate for the recipient, the determination including interrogating a data source that includes additional contact information relating to the email address or the salutation;

when the salutation is verified, transmit, by the email client, the email message;

when the salutation is not verified, provide, by the email client, a notification that the salutation is not a verified salutation to prompt correction of the salutation prior to transmitting the email message.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein to provide, by the email client, the notification includes to:

display one or more verified salutations associated with the email address;

receive a selection of one of the one or more verified salutations;

update the email message to include the selected verified salutation; and

send the updated email message with the selected verified salutation.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein to determine, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address further comprises to:

determine a masculinity attribute or a femininity attribute relating to the email address or the salutation.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the data source includes third-party data sources such as a social media network.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the data source includes a global library that identifies a plurality of salutations, names, and nicknames to determine whether the salutation is verified for the email address.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the data source includes a user-defined library that identifies a plurality of user-defined salutations associated with one or more email addresses.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of user-defined salutations include salutations identified in email messages previously sent.

20. A computer readable storage device including computer readable instructions, which when executed by a processing unit, performs steps for recipient verification, comprising:

receiving, at an email client executing on a computing device, a draft of an email message addressed to a recipient, wherein the email message includes an email address and a salutation; and

in response to receiving an indication to send the email message, and prior to transmitting the email message;

identifying, by the email client, the email address in the email message;

identifying, by the email client, the salutation in the email message, wherein the salutation includes an honorific associated with a name of the recipient;

determining, by the email client, whether the salutation is a verified salutation associated with the email address by verifying one or more of a gender of the honorific and a type of the honorific is appropriate for the recipient, the determination including interrogating a data source that includes additional contact information relating to the email address or the salutation;

when the salutation is verified;

transmitting, by the email client, the email message;

when the salutation is not verified;

providing, by the email client, a notification that the salutation is not a verified salutation to prompt correction of the salutation prior to transmitting the email message;

displaying, by the email client, one or more verified salutations associated with the email address within the notification;

receiving, at the email client, a selection of one of the one or more verified salutations;

updating, by the email client, the email message to include the selected verified salutation; and

transmitting, by the email client, the updated email message with the selected verified salutation.