APPLICANT AUTHENTICATION
First Claim
1. A method of authenticating an applicant, the method comprising:
- obtaining a transaction history of transactions performed on an account held by the applicant and for which the applicant has been previously authenticated, the transaction history comprising information about each transaction;
asking the applicant one or more questions relating to the information about one or more transactions in the history;
receiving from the applicant answers to the one or more questions; and
indicating, based at least in part on the one or more answers received and the transaction history, whether the applicant is authenticated.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of authenticating an applicant. A history is obtained of transactions performed on an account held by the applicant and for which the applicant has been previously authenticated. The transaction history includes information about each transaction. The applicant is asked one or more questions relating to the information in the history. Answers to the one or more questions are received from the applicant, and a decision is made based on the received answers and the transaction history whether the applicant is authenticated. The applicant may be applying for enrollment in a service, and enrollment may be accepted or declined based on whether the applicant is authenticated. The account may relate to a payment instrument, and the authentication may be performed by an entity other than the issuer of the payment instrument.
114 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of authenticating an applicant, the method comprising:
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obtaining a transaction history of transactions performed on an account held by the applicant and for which the applicant has been previously authenticated, the transaction history comprising information about each transaction; asking the applicant one or more questions relating to the information about one or more transactions in the history; receiving from the applicant answers to the one or more questions; and indicating, based at least in part on the one or more answers received and the transaction history, whether the applicant is authenticated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An system for authenticating an applicant, comprising:
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a host computer; and a computer readable medium holding instructions executable by the host computer to obtain a transaction history of transactions performed on an account held by the applicant, the transaction history comprising information about each transaction; ask the applicant one or more questions relating to the information about one or more transactions in the history; receive from the applicant answers to the one or more questions; and decide, based at least in part on the one or more answers received and the transaction history, whether the applicant is authenticated. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method of being authenticated as the rightful holder of a payment instrument account, comprising:
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building a transaction history by performing one or more transactions using the payment instrument; receiving, from an authenticating system having access to the transaction history, a first predetermined number of questions relating to one or more patterns or anomalies in the transaction history; answering the questions; and receiving notice of successful authentication upon answering a second predetermined number of the questions correctly.
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23. A computer system, comprising:
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a display screen; and an input device; the computer system in communication over an electronic network with a host computer system, the computer system displaying on the display screen user interface windows served by the host computer system, the user interface windows presenting to a user of the computer system questions relating to a transaction history of a payment device, the user providing answers to the questions using the input device, and the computer displaying on the display screen an indication of whether the user has been authenticated as the rightful holder of the payment instrument; wherein the questions test the applicant'"'"'s knowledge of one or more patterns or anomalies in the transaction history.
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24. A method of administering a payments network, comprising:
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transmitting information about transactions from points of sale to issuers of payment instruments used in the transactions; storing the information in transaction histories of the respective payment instruments; asking an applicant one or more questions relating to the transaction history of a particular payment instrument; receiving from the applicant answers to the one or more questions; and based at least in part on the answers and on the transaction history of the particular payment instrument, authenticating the applicant as the rightful holder of the particular payment instrument or declining to authenticate the applicant as the rightful holder of the particular payment instrument. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification