Privacy Information Reporting Systems with Enhanced Utility

• US 20060287766A1
• Filed: 10/10/2005
• Published: 12/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: MyPublicInfo, Inc. (BrightStar Information Technology Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MyPublicInfo, Inc. (BrightStar Information Technology Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kraft, Harold H.
• Application Number:
  US11/163,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20060287766A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/236
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2457 with adaptation to user needs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

A system for providing self-background checks for consumers attempts to provide a goal number of records while ensuring that no records are excluded arbitrarily. To ensure against overwhelming consumers with information where overly lax search criteria are used, a goal record number is employed to limit the retrieved quantity of data in a background check. The system establishes a goal record count while stepping search criteria in a ranked order toward target number to ensure records are not excluded arbitrarily. In another feature, the criteria themselves, which may vary in kind, are shown in a collapsible control.

Claims

1. A method of providing a report of public information, relating to an individual, to that individual, comprising:

from at least a network server, transmitting a form with fields for obtaining identifying information, identifying said individual, to a client terminal;

receiving at at least a network server from said client terminal, identifying information associated with said form fields, said identifying information substantially uniquely identifying said individual;

at at least a network server, authenticating a requester at said client terminal to confirm that said requester is said individual;

at at least a network server, performing a process including querying a database, said process resulting in a final set of records resulting from said querying and pertaining to said identifying information;

said process being such that said final set includes records satisfying a strict matching criterion and records not satisfying said strict matching criterion, but satisfying a less strict matching criterion, when records in said database include less than a predetermined number satisfying said strict matching criterion, but includes only records satisfying said strict matching criterion when records in said database include at least a predetermined number satisfying said strict matching criterion;

generating at at least a network server, a report including data from said final set of records.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said process includes querying said database with a first strict criterion and counting a number of records retrieved then querying said database with a second less strict criterion when said number of records is less than a predetermined number.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein all records in said final set correspond to a result of a same query, whereby no records are arbitrarily excluded from said final set.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said strict matching criterion includes a full address and said less strict matching criterion includes only a partial address.

5. A method as in claim 4, wherein said partial address has no street portion of an address.

6. A method of providing a report of public information, relating to an individual, to that individual, comprising:

from at least a network server, transmitting a form with fields for obtaining identifying information, identifying said individual, to a client terminal;

receiving at at least a network server from said client terminal, identifying information associated with said form fields, said identifying information substantially uniquely identifying said individual;

at at least a network server, authenticating a requester at said client terminal to confirm that said requester is said individual;

at at least a network server, querying a database and retrieving a final set of records resulting from said querying and pertaining to said identifying information;

said final set including records corresponding to a result of a narrow query and a broad query when the number of records in said database satisfying said broad query is less than a predetermined number;

generating at at least a network server, a report including data from said final set of records;

transmitting said report to a client terminal.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein said report includes a list of criteria satisfied by records reported therein such that said list includes, correspondingly, a specification of both said narrow and broad queries or only a specification of said narrow query.

8. A method as in claim 6, wherein said step of querying includes iteratively querying said database until said predetermined number is reached.

9. A method of providing a report of public information, relating to an individual, to that individual, comprising:

from at least a network server, transmitting a form with fields for obtaining identifying information, identifying said individual, to a client terminal;

receiving at at least a network server from said client terminal, identifying information associated with said form fields, said identifying information substantially uniquely identifying said individual;

at at least a network server, authenticating a requester at said client terminal to confirm that said requester is said individual;

at at least a network server, querying a database and retrieving a final set of records resulting from said querying and pertaining to said identifying information;

determining if a predetermined number of records has been obtained;

at least one of querying an additional database or querying, based on a less strict query, a same database when less than said predetermined number is determined;

generating at at least a network server, a report including data from said final set of records;

transmitting said report to a client terminal.

10. A method as in claim 9, wherein said report includes a list of criteria satisfied by records reported therein such that said list includes, correspondingly, a specification of both said narrow and broad queries or only a specification of said narrow query.

11. A method as in claim 9, wherein said report includes a list of databases accessed to generate said report.