System for selective delivery of electronic communications
First Claim
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1. A method for selective delivery of electronic communications comprising the steps of:
- receiving a communication;
parsing the communication;
determining a sender address associated with the communication;
validating the sender address format;
if the sender address format is not valid, then deleting the communication;
if the sender address format is valid, then determining if the trace data is valid, if the trace data is valid, then delivering the communication to a recipient electronic address;
if the trace data is not valid, then transmitting a request to the sender electronic address to authenticate an origin of the communication;
storing the communication electronically until a response to the request to authenticate is received from the sender electronic address, if an affirmative response to the request to authenticate is received from the sender electronic address, then delivering the communication to the recipient electronic address;
if the request to authenticate is returned from the sender electronic address as undeliverable, then storing an indication that the sender electronic address is undeliverable.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for selective delivery of electronic communications to reduce the amount of unwanted email (spam) that is received. An electronic message is not delivered to a recipient until the sender address is verified. If the address is not verified, it can be compared to a database that includes known spammers. Also, records of spamming and forged emails can be compiled and forwarded to an enforcement agency.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for selective delivery of electronic communications comprising the steps of:
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receiving a communication;
parsing the communication;
determining a sender address associated with the communication;
validating the sender address format;
if the sender address format is not valid, then deleting the communication;
if the sender address format is valid, then determining if the trace data is valid, if the trace data is valid, then delivering the communication to a recipient electronic address;
if the trace data is not valid, then transmitting a request to the sender electronic address to authenticate an origin of the communication;
storing the communication electronically until a response to the request to authenticate is received from the sender electronic address, if an affirmative response to the request to authenticate is received from the sender electronic address, then delivering the communication to the recipient electronic address;
if the request to authenticate is returned from the sender electronic address as undeliverable, then storing an indication that the sender electronic address is undeliverable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for selective delivery of electronic communications comprising the steps of:
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receiving a communication;
parsing the communication;
determining a sender address associated with communication;
validating the sender address;
if the sender address is not valid, then deleting the communication;
if the sender address is valid, then transmitting the communication to a recipient electronic address.
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10. A method for selective delivery of electronic communications comprising the steps of:
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receiving a communication;
parsing the communication;
determining a sender address associated with the communication;
determining if trace data within the communication is valid, if the trace data is valid, then delivering the communication to a recipient electronic address;
if the trace data is not valid, then transmitting a request to the sender electronic address to confirm that the communication originated from the sender electronic address. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for selective delivery to a recipient address of electronic communications comprising the steps of:
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receiving a communication from a sender electronic address;
parsing the communication;
determining whether the communication is authenticated by a digital certificate;
if there is not a digital certificate, then transmitting a message to the sender electronic address that only digitally certified communications are received by the recipient address;
if there is a digital certificate, then transmitting the communication to the recipient electronic address.
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16. A method for selective delivery of electronic communications comprising the steps of:
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receiving a communication from a sender electronic address;
parsing the communication;
determining whether a portion of the sender electronic address includes undesired information;
transmitting a request to the sender electronic address to authenticate an origin of the communication when a portion of the sender electronic address includes undesired information;
storing the communication electronically until a response to the request to authenticate is received from the sender electronic address, if an affirmative response to the request to authenticate is received from the sender electronic address, then delivering the communication to the recipient electronic address;
if the request to authenticate is returned from the sender electronic address as undeliverable, then storing an indication that the sender electronic address is undeliverable. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A method for linking a transaction origination address to a reply communication comprising:
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allocating a range of electronic addresses to a particular recipient;
assigning a unique recipient electronic address when the recipient is initiating electronic communication with a sender address;
maintaining a list of associations between assigned unique recipient electronic addresses and communications;
utilizing the assigned unique recipient electronic address when transmitting communications from the recipient;
receiving, by the recipient, a plurality of return communications, each return communication including one of the unique recipient electronic addresses; and
identifying the sender electronic address as a function of the unique recipient email address. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method for identifying disconnects within an electronic communication comprising:
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establishing hyperlink text data;
establishing hyperlink Uniform Resource Locator data;
comparing the hyperlink text data and the hyperlink Uniform Resource Locator data; and
establishing an alert condition when the hyperlink text data and the hyperlink Uniform Resource Locator data do not correspond.
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21. A method for identifying disconnects within an electronic communication comprising:
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establishing hyperlink data;
establishing text data;
comparing the hyperlink data and the text data; and
establishing an alert condition when the hyperlink data and the text data do not correspond.
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22. A method for identifying disconnects within an electronic communication comprising:
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establishing hyperlink data;
establishing sender address data;
comparing the hyperlink data and the sender address data; and
establishing an alert condition when the hyperlink data and the sender address data do not correspond.
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23. A method for accumulating data relating to an unsubscribe request comprising:
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receiving an undesired electronic communication from a sender electronic address at a recipient electronic address;
transmitting a first unsubscribe electronic communication from the recipient to a third party electronic address;
transmitting a second unsubscribe electronic communication from the third party electronic address to the sender electronic address; and
accumulating unsubscribe data by the third party.
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Specification