METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE PREVENTION OF UNWANTED CALLS IN A CALLBACK SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A system for processing a request for a call comprising:
- a call server connected to a packet switched network;
a first party device configured to receive a phone call; and
a second party device configured to participate in a phone call;
wherein the call server is configured to perform the steps of;
receiving via the packet switched network a request from a first party for a call from a second party to the first party, the request including information sufficient to identify a device associated with the first party, the request originating from a source computer;
making a determination whether a total number of requests received from the source computer during a period of time exceeds a threshold; and
connecting the first party to the second party or blocking the request based on the determination.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In one method and apparatus for blocking unwanted calls in a callback system, parameters associated with a callback request (e.g., the user device to which the call is to be directed, the IP address from which the request originated or an identifier of the source computer from which the callback request originated, the party from whom the call is requested) are tracked for each call. A decision to automatically block the requested callback is made based on one or more criteria based on a combination of these parameters, which may be a total over a period of time. In a second method, one or both of the parties to the callback is queried as to whether the callback is unwanted and, if so, one or more parameters associated with the request are blacklisted.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for processing a request for a call comprising:
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a call server connected to a packet switched network; a first party device configured to receive a phone call; and a second party device configured to participate in a phone call; wherein the call server is configured to perform the steps of; receiving via the packet switched network a request from a first party for a call from a second party to the first party, the request including information sufficient to identify a device associated with the first party, the request originating from a source computer; making a determination whether a total number of requests received from the source computer during a period of time exceeds a threshold; and connecting the first party to the second party or blocking the request based on the determination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for processing a request for a call comprising:
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a call server connected to a packet switched network; a first party device configured to receive a phone call; and a second party device configured to participate in a phone call; wherein the call server is configured to perform the steps of; receiving via the packet switched network a request from a first party for a call from a second party to the first party, the request including information sufficient to identify a device associated with the first party, the request originating from a source computer; making a determination whether a total number of requests received from the source computer for a call from the second party during a period of time exceeds a threshold; and connecting the first party to the second party or blocking the request based on the determination. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for processing a request for a call comprising:
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a call server connected to a packet switched network; a first party device configured to receive a phone call; and a second party device configured to participate in a phone call; wherein the call server is configured to perform the steps of; receiving via the packet switched network a request from a first party for, a call from a second party to the first party, the request including information sufficient to identify a device associated with the first party, the request originating from a source computer; making a determination whether a total number of requests received from the source computer for a call to the first party during a period of time exceeds a threshold; and connecting the first party to the second party or blocking the request based on the determination. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification