Distributed signature verification with dynamic database of reference signatures
First Claim
1. A signature verification system for verifying a signature on a bank check received at a point of sale system comprising:
- a retrieve module retrieving a reference signature set having a plurality of signatures by one or more account owners of a checking account on which the check is drawn;
a signature verification module comparing the signature on the check against the signatures in the reference signature set;
a send acceptance module sending an accept message to the point of sale system if the signature verification module verifies the signature; and
a send reference module for sending the reference signature set to the point of sale system if the signature verification does not verify the signature.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Information is provided to a point of sale system to assist a sales clerk in preventing a bank check having a fraudulent signature from being accepted at the point of sale. The check signature is scanned from the bank check and an account identifier is read from the bank check. A reference signature set associated with the account identifier is retrieved from the database. The check signature is compared against reference signatures in the reference signature set to verify the check signature and generate a signature confidence value based on how closely the check signature matches one or more of the reference signatures. The signature confidence value is tested against a predetermined value to accept or not accept the check signature. An accept check message is sent to the point of sale system if the act of testing verifies the check signature. The check signature is added to the reference signature set for the checking account identified by the check identifier if the check signature is verified. If the check signature is not verified, the reference signature set is sent to the point of sale system for use by the sales clerk in visual inspection of the check. An account tracking service is called if the reference signature set is not in the database. The account tracking service checks the account identifier against a list of accounts that have a history of one or more bad checks being issued.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A signature verification system for verifying a signature on a bank check received at a point of sale system comprising:
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a retrieve module retrieving a reference signature set having a plurality of signatures by one or more account owners of a checking account on which the check is drawn;
a signature verification module comparing the signature on the check against the signatures in the reference signature set;
a send acceptance module sending an accept message to the point of sale system if the signature verification module verifies the signature; and
a send reference module for sending the reference signature set to the point of sale system if the signature verification does not verify the signature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for providing information to a point of sale system to assist in preventing a bank check having a fraudulent signature from being accepted at the point of sale, the method comprising:
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receiving a check signature scanned from the bank check and an account identifier read from the bank check;
retrieving from a database a reference signature set associated with the account identifier;
comparing the check signature against reference signatures in the reference signature set to verify the check signature and generating a signature confidence value based on how closely the check signature matches one or more of the reference signatures; and
testing the signature confidence value to accept or not accept the check signature. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. Apparatus for verifying a customer signature on a funds document received in a transaction at a point of sale station, the funds document being drawn on an account identified by an account number on the funds document, said apparatus comprising:
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means for storing customer signatures from previous transactions as reference signatures in a reference signature set associated with an account number, the customer signatures and account number being received from one or more point of sale stations as a result of a plurality of transactions at said one or more stations;
means for retrieving the reference signature set based on the account number identified in the current transaction;
means for comparing the current customer signature from the current transaction to one or more reference signatures in the reference signature set and indicating whether or not there is a match between the current customer signature and one or more reference signatures;
means for sending a valid signature message to the point of sale station if said comparing means indicates there is a match between the current customer signature and one or more reference signatures. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A computer program product readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for verifying a customer signature on a funds document received in a transaction at a point of sale station, the funds document being drawn on an account identified by an account number on the funds document, said computer process comprising:
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storing customer signatures from previous transactions as reference signatures in a reference signature set associated with an account number, the customer signatures and account number being received from one or more point of sale stations as a result of a plurality of transactions at said one or more stations;
retrieving the reference signature set based on the account number identified in the current transaction;
comparing the current customer signature from the current transaction to one or more reference signatures in the reference signature set and indicating whether or not there is a match between the current customer signature and one or more reference signatures;
sending a valid signature message to the point of sale station if said comparing means indicates there is a match between the current customer signature and one or more reference signatures. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification