Method and system for securing online identities

• US 20090328173A1
• Filed: 06/30/2008
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gabriel Jakobson, Steven Rueben
• Original Assignee: Gabriel Jakobson, Steven Rueben
• Inventors: Jakobson, Gabriel, Rueben, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,646,103 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/7
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/84 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

Various methods, systems and apparatus for associating fictitious user identities (e.g. screen names, user names, handles, etc.) used in electronic communications (e.g. over the internet via instant messenger, e-mail, social networks, eCommerce and auction websites, etc.) with real personal information (e.g. the true identity of an individual such as their name, address, credit score, driving record, etc.) are disclosed. One such method may include storing real personal information, associated with fictitious user identities, in a CGI, hosted by a GICS. The CGI may be a unique record for an individual person and may contain real personal information verified with proper authorities (e.g. a name, address and driving record of the individual verified with a department of motor vehicles), as well as fictitious user identities used by the individual, feedback receiving from other users, etc. The method may further include allowing a remote user to submit a query to the GICS requesting information associated with a fictitious user identity, whereby the GICS may search for a CGI associating information with the fictitious user identity; and, transmit some or all of the information to the remote user. One apparatus, according to aspects of the present invention, may include means of associating real personal information, submitted by a user, with fictitious user identities, means of verifying the real personal information and the ownership of the real personal information by the submitting user, means of receiving a request for some personal information associated with a fictitious user identity, from a remote user, means for identifying the CGI associated with the fictitious user identity, means of retrieving some of the personal information from the CGI and means of transmitting some of the information to the remote user. The system may further include means of limiting the information transmitted to the remote user. (e.g. the remote user may be transmitted the credit score of the person owning a fictitious screen name, without being transmitted any further information identifying the person.)

Claims

1. A method for associating a fictitious user name with verifiable personal information, in an electronic communications system, comprising:

providing a Global Identity Certification Service (“

GICS”

) containing a database containing Certified Global Identity (“

CGI”

) records, coupled to the internet;

receiving a first fictitious user name;

determining a user of the first fictitious user name;

receiving identity information for the user;

verifying the identity information of the user;

determining if the user is an owner of the identity information that has been verified; and

recording the first fictitious user name and the identity information that has been verified in a first CGI record stored in the database containing the CGI records.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the user of the fictitious user name, further comprises:

determining a host and an address of the first fictitious user name;

sending an electronic communication to the address of the first fictitious user name account hosted by the host; and

receiving a confirmation that the user has received the electronic communication.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

associating a second fictitious user name with the identity information that has been verified; and

recording the second fictitious user name in the first CGI record.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

recording information associated with the second fictitious user name in the first CGI record.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

transmitting to a remote user transacting with the first fictitious user name, the information associated with the second fictitious user name.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

determining if the information associated with the second fictitious user name is not within a pre-determined range of values.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

alerting a remote user transacting with the first fictitious user name when the information associated with the second fictitious user name is not within a pre-determined range of values.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the verifying of the identity information is performed by electronic communications between the GICS with a public authority.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the CGI records is unique.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user is the owner of the first CGI record.

11. A method for retrieving verifiable personal information associated with a fictitious user name, in an electronic communications system, comprising:

providing a Global Identity Certification Service (“

GICS”

) containing a plurality of Certified Global Identity (“

CGI”

) records, coupled to the internet;

wherein each of the CGI records contains at least one fictitious user name and at least some verifiable personal information;

receiving the fictitious user name from a remote user;

determining the CGI record containing the fictitious user name;

retrieving the verifiable personal information from the CGI record; and

transmitting at least some of verifiable personal information to the remote user.

12. The method in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving transaction information from the remote user, wherein a portion of the verifiable personal information that has been retrieved is transmitted to the remote user based upon the transaction information.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein a set of rules within the GICS determines the portion of the verifiable personal information transmitted to the remote user.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a portion of the personal information transmitted to the remote user based upon information settings provided by the owner of the CGI.

15. A method for associating feedback with a fictitious user name, in an electronic communications system, comprising:

providing a Global Identity Certification Service (“

GICS”

) containing a plurality of Certified Global Identity (“

CGI”

) records, coupled to the internet wherein each of the CGI records contains at least one fictitious user name and at least some verifiable personal information;

receiving the fictitious user name from a remote user;

receiving feedback associated with the fictitious user name from the remote user;

determining the CGI record containing the fictitious user name; and

recording the feedback in the CGI record containing the fictitious user name.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein information pertaining to the remote user is recorded in the CGI record.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the feedback is generated and recorded automatically as a result of an online interaction between a user owning the fictitious screen name and the remote user.

18. A method for automatically determining whether to accept an electronic communication from a remote user using a fictitious user name, in an electronic communications system, comprising:

providing a Global Identity Certification Service (“

GICS”

) containing a plurality of Certified Global Identity (“

CGI”

) records, coupled to the internet wherein each of the CGI records contains at least one fictitious user name and verifiable personal information and feedback;

receiving the electronic communication from the remote user of the fictitious user name;

determining the GICS containing the CGI record containing the fictitious user name; and

requesting from the GICS, at least some of the verifiable personal information and at least some of the feedback stored in the CGI record;

comparing the information and the feedback received from the CGI record with pre-determined ranges of values; and

accepting the electronic communication if the received information or the feedback is within the pre-determined ranges of values.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the electronic communication is an instant message over an instant messaging communications network.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein if the received information is not within the pre-determined range of values, routing the electronic communication to a different destination.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein if the received information is not within the predetermined range of values, rejecting the electronic communication.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein if the received information is not within the predetermined range of values, alerting a recipient of the electronic communication.

23. A method for exchanging select personal information between a first user and a second user, the first user and the second user each using fictitious user names, in an electronic communications system, comprising:

means for receiving from the first user the fictitious user name used by the second user;

means for identifying a Certified Global Identity (“

CGI”

) record in a Global Identity Certification Service (“

GICS”

), wherein the CGI record contains information associated with the fictitious user name used by the second user;

means for determining a portion of the information in the CGI record to transmit to the first user; and

means for transmitting the portion of the information in the CGI record to the first user.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the means for determining the portion of the information step further comprises means for using a rule set by the second user.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the means for determining the portion of the information step further comprises means for receiving permission to transmit the portion of the information from the second user.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the means for identifying the CGI record includes means for the GICS to search a database containing a plurality of CGI records.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the database is external to the GICS.

28. A method for targeting advertising content, in an electronic communications system, comprising:

providing a Global Identity Certification Service (“

GICS”

) coupled to the internet;

providing a plurality of Certified Global Identity (“

CGI”

) records, each containing at least one fictitious user name and at least some verifiable personal information, wherein the CGI records are stored in the GICS;

providing a database containing advertising content;

receiving the fictitious user name;

transmitting the fictitious user name to the CGI record;

receiving from the CGI record the verifiable personal information;

selecting from the database a portion of the advertising content based upon the verifiable personal information; and

transmitting the portion of the advertising content that has been selected to the user of the fictitious user name.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the verifiable personal information includes financial information, age information, employment information and residence information

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the transmitting and the receiving steps are through an instant messaging network.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the advertising content contains multiple offers targeted at multiple users with multiple fictitious user names and different verifiable personal information is associated with each fictitious user name, wherein different offers are transmitted to different users based on the verifiable personal information.