Debit-based identity theft monitoring and prevention

• US 10,643,217 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2005
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fidelity Information Services, LLC (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Efunds Corporation (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Romain, Martin R., Bjerke, Paul P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Qayyum, Zeshan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhou, Yingying
• Application Number:
  US11/138,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20060271456A1
• Time in Patent Office: 5,458 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/425 using two different networks, one for transaction and one for security confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

Systems and methods of monitoring financial information of a consumer for fraudulent activity. One method can include receiving an account closure event from an event provider, determining if the account closure event is associated with financial information of the consumer, generating a notification, and providing the notification to the consumer. Another method can include receiving a returned check event from an event provider, determining if the returned check event is associated with financial information of the consumer, generating a notification, and providing the notification to the consumer.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring financial information of a consumer and reporting account activity using a system including a central computer in communication with a computer network, the method comprising:

generating, by the central computer, a unique key for the consumer based on information associated with the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in a first database containing a plurality of keys for other consumers, the unique key for the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in the first database, a consumer preference of the consumer for notification of an event type, wherein the first database contains consumer preferences for a plurality of customers for notification of event types;

receiving, by the central computer, an account event from an event provider computer, the account event comprising consumer information for the account event and the account event having an event type;

generating, by the central computer, a key for the account event based on information associated with the consumer;

scoring, by the central computer, the account event;

sending, by the central computer, a notice of the scored account event to the event provider computer;

determining, by the central computer, that the account event is associated with the consumer by (i) comparing the generated key for the account event with the stored unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) determining, based on the comparison, that they match;

based on the determined match, determining, by the central computer, that the event type of the consumer preference stored at the first database matches the event type of the account event;

identifying, by the central computer, keys from the first database that match the unique key generated for the consumer;

generating, by the central computer and based on the determined consumer preference, a notification including an event listing of account events that (i) have the identified keys that match the unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) correspond to the determined consumer preference, wherein the event listing includes the account event;

encrypting, by the central computer, the notification;

receiving, by the central computer, from a second database, an output file format for a vendor;

generating, by the central computer, an output file according to the output file format, wherein

the output file comprises a plurality of segments, wherein at least one of the segments contains the encrypted notification;

sending, by the central computer, the output file to a computer of the vendor; and

providing, by the central computer, the notification to a computer of the consumer based on the consumer preference of the consumer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the event listing includes at least one of an event date, an event source, and an indication of additional matching events.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the notification includes an instruction section that specifies how to generate a disagreement notification.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the information associated with the consumer includes debit information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the notification to the computer of the consumer includes electronically mailing the notification to the consumer via the computer network.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a disagreement notification from the consumer if the consumer disagrees with the notification.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising transmitting an identity theft notice via the computer network upon receiving the disagreement notification.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the event provider computer is part of a financial institution.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the account event comprises at least one of an account closure event, a new account inquiry event, a returned check event, a payment device order event, and a lost or stolen account information event.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the central computer, an account event from an event provider computer via the computer network, wherein the another account event comprises an account freeze information event.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving updated information from the consumer and storing the updated information on the central computer.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the account event on the central computer.

23. The method of claim 9 further comprising receiving a new account inquiry event via the computer network.

24. The method of claim 9 further comprising receiving a returned check event via the computer network.

25. The method of claim 9 further comprising receiving a payment device order event via the computer network.

26. The method of claim 9 further comprising receiving a lost or stolen account information event via the computer network.

32. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the account event is valid by determining the account event is from an authorized source.

33. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the account event is valid by determining the event provider computer is authorized.

34. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the account event is valid by determining the event is in a format or structure of the system.

13. A system for monitoring financial information of a plurality of consumers and reporting account activity, the system comprising:

a network adapter providing a connection to a consumer database configured to store information obtained from the plurality of consumers and a connection to an event provider computer configured to transmit an account event via the computer network;

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

generating a unique key for a consumer based on information associated with the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in a consumer database containing a plurality of keys for other consumers, the unique key for the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in the consumer database, a consumer preference of the consumer for notification of an event type, wherein the consumer database contains consumer preferences for a plurality of consumers for notification of event types;

receiving, by the event provider computer, an account event, the account event comprising consumer information for the account event and the account event having an event type;

generating a key for the account event based on information associated with the consumer;

scoring, by the central computer, the account event;

sending, by the central computer, a notice of the scored account event to the event provider computer;

determining, by the central computer, that the account event is associated with the consumer by (i) comparing the generated key for the account event with the stored unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) determining, based on the comparison, they match;

based on the determined match, determining that the event type of the consumer preference stored at the consumer database matches the event type of the account event;

identifying, by the central computer, keys from the first database that match the unique key generated for the consumer;

generating, based on the determined consumer preference, a notification including an event listing of account events that (i) have the identified keys that match the unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) correspond to the determined consumer preference, wherein the event listing includes the account event;

encrypting the notification;

receiving, by the central computer, from a second database, an output file format for a vendor;

generating an output file according to the output file format, wherein

the output file comprises a plurality of segments, wherein at least one of the segments contains the encrypted notification;

sending the output file to a computer of the vendor; and

providing, by the central computer, the notification to a computer of the consumer based on the consumer preference of the consumer.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the information stored in the consumer database includes debit information.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium contains instructions to electronically mail the notification to one of the plurality of consumers via the computer network.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium contains instructions to receive a disagreement notification from the at least one consumer of the plurality of consumers.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium contains instructions to transmit an identity theft notice via the computer network upon receiving the disagreement notification.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the event provider computer is part of a financial institution.

19. The system of claim 13 wherein the account event comprises at least one of an account closure event, a new account inquiry event, a returned check event, a payment device order event, and a lost or stolen account information event.

20. The system of claim 13 the operations comprising receiving, via the connection to the event provider computer, another account event, wherein the another account event comprises an account freeze information event.

21. The system of claim 13 wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium contains instructions to receive updated information via the computer network and to store the updated information in the consumer database on the central computer.

22. The system of claim 13 wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium contains instructions to store the account event on the central computer.

27. The system of claim 19 wherein the system is further configured to receive a new account inquiry event via the computer network.

28. The system of claim 19 wherein the system is further configured to receive a returned check event via the computer network.

29. The system of claim 19 wherein the system is further configured to receive a payment device order event via the computer network.

30. The system of claim 19 wherein the system is further configured to receive a lost or stolen account information event via the computer network.

35. The system of claim 13 further comprising determining when the account closure event is valid by determining the account event is from an authorized source.

36. The system of claim 13 further comprising determining the account event is valid by determining the event provider computer is authorized.

37. The system of claim 13 further comprising determining the account event is valid comprises determining the account event is in a format or structure of the system.

31. A financial information monitoring system, the system comprising:

a network adapter providing a connection to a consumer database configured to store information obtained from the plurality of consumers, a connection to an event provider computer configured to transmit an account event via the computer network, and a connection to an identity theft solution server;

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing a set of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

generating a unique key for a consumer based on information associated with the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in the consumer database, a plurality of keys for other consumers and the unique key for the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in the consumer database, a consumer preference of the consumer for notification of an event type, wherein the consumer database contains consumer preferences for a plurality of customers for notification of event types;

receiving, from the event provider computer, an account event, the account event comprising consumer information for the account event and the account event having an event type;

generating a key for the account event based on information associated with the consumer;

scoring, by the central computer, the account event;

sending, by the central computer, the scored account event to the identity theft solution server;

determining, by the central computer, that the account event is associated with the consumer by (i) comparing the generated key for the account event with the unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) determining, based on the comparison, that they match;

based on the determined match, determining, via the connection to the event provider computer, that the event type of the consumer preference stored at the first database matches the event type of the account event;

identifying, by the central computer, keys from the first database that match the unique key generated for the consumer;

generating, based on the determined consumer preference, a notification including an event listing of account events that (i) have the identified keys that match the unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) correspond to the determined consumer preference, wherein the event listing includes the account event;

encrypting the notification;

receiving, by the central computer, from a second database, an output file format for a vendor;

generating an output file according to the output file format, wherein

the output file comprises a plurality of segments, wherein at least one of the segments contains the encrypted notification;

sending, by the central computer, the output file to a computer of the vendor; and

providing, by the central computer, the notification to a computer of the consumer based on the consumer preference of the consumer.

38. The system of claim 31 further comprising determining the account event is valid by determining the account event is from an authorized source.

39. The system of claim 31 further comprising determining the account event is valid by determining the event provider computer is authorized.

40. The system of claim 31 further comprising determining the account event is valid by determining the event is in a format or structure of the system.

51. The system of claim 31 wherein the account event comprises at least one of an account closure event, a new account inquiry event, a returned check event, a payment device order event, and a lost or stolen account information event.

52. The system of claim 31, the operations comprising receiving, by the central computer, another account event from an event provider computer via the computer network, wherein the another account event comprises an account freeze information event.

41. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations of monitoring financial information of a consumer and reporting account activity using a system including a central computer in communication with a computer network, the operations comprising:

generating, by the central computer, a unique key for a consumer based on information associated with the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in a first database containing a plurality of keys for other consumers, the unique key for the consumer;

storing, by the central computer, in the first database, a consumer preference of the consumer for notification of an event type, wherein the first database contains consumer preferences for a plurality of customers for notification of event types;

receiving, by the central computer, an account event from an event provider computer, the account event comprising consumer information for the account event and the account event having an event type;

generating, by the central computer, a key for the account event based on information associated with the consumer;

scoring, by the central computer, the account event;

sending, by the central computer, a notice of the scored account event to the event provider computer;

determining, by the central computer, that account event is associated with the consumer by (i) comparing the generated key for the account event with the unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) determining, based on the comparison, that they match;

based on the determined match, determining, by the central computer, that the event type of the consumer preference stored at the first database matches the event type of the account event;

generating, by the central computer and based on the determined consumer preference, a notification including an event listing of account events that (i) have the identified keys that match the unique key generated for the consumer and (ii) correspond to the determined consumer preference, wherein the event listing includes the account event;

encrypting, by the central computer, the notification;

receiving, by the central computer, from a second database, an output file format for a vendor;

generating, by the central computer, an output file according to the output file format, wherein

the output file comprises a plurality of segments, wherein at least one of the segments contains the encrypted notification;

sending, by the central computer, the output file to a computer of the vendor; and

providing, by the central computer, the notification to a computer of the consumer based on the consumer preference of the consumer.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein the event listing includes at least one of an event date, an event source, and an indication of additional matching events.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein the notification includes an instruction section that specifies how to generate a disagreement notification.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein the information associated with the consumer includes debit information.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein providing the notification to the computer of the consumer includes electronically mailing the notification to the consumer via the computer network.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, the method further comprising receiving a disagreement notification from the consumer if the consumer disagrees with the notification.

47. The computer-readable medium of claim 46, the method further comprising transmitting an identity theft notice via the computer network upon receiving the disagreement notification.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein the event provider computer is part of a financial institution.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein the account event comprises at least one of an account closure event, a new account inquiry event, a returned check event, a payment device order event, and a lost or stolen account information event.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, the operations comprise receiving, by the central computer, another account event from the event provider computer via the computer network, wherein the another account event comprises an account freeze information event.