ALERT FOR REAL-TIME RISK OF THEFT OR LOSS

• US 20110057797A1
• Filed: 09/09/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Absolute Software Corporation
• Original Assignee: Absolute Software Corporation
• Inventors: Loveland, Damien Gerard, Parker, Timothy
• Granted Patent: US 8,717,172 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/568.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/14 by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/22 Electrical actuation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 31/00 Predictive alarm systems characterised by extrapolation or other computation using updated historic data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/12 Detection or prevention of fraud
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/67 Risk-dependent, e.g. selecting a security level depending on risk profiles

Abstract

Devices, methods, systems and a computer readable medium for the provision of alerts to electronic devices in response to real-time, location based analysis of the risk of theft or loss of such devices are provided. A continually updated database of locations of thefts, losses and/or stolen or lost electronic devices is accessed in order to provide the alerts to the electronic devices.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of alerting electronic device users of theft risk, comprising:

monitoring the locations of a plurality of electronic devices, wherein monitoring said locations comprises receiving identification and location information reported by said electronic devices regarding their current locations;

monitoring theft statuses of the electronic devices, at least some of said theft statuses being based on theft events reported by users of the electronic devices;

determining, based on the monitored locations and monitored theft statuses of the electronic devices, that a first electronic device of said plurality of electronic devices is in a high theft risk zone; and

in response to determining that the first electronic device is in the high theft risk zone, causing an alert to be provided to a user of the first electronic device;

said method performed automatically by a computerized system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electronic device is a device that is not currently reported as stolen.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the theft statuses of the electronic devices are based on one or more of theft events reported by users of the electronic devices, loss events reported by users of the electronic devices, and the current location of devices that are reported as lost or stolen.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the alert comprises a textual alert message, and the method comprises incorporating, into the textual alert message, data regarding one or more reported theft events associated with the zone.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said data regarding one or more reported theft events includes data regarding a type of electronic device reported as stolen.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said data regarding one or more reported theft events includes an indication of when a reported theft occurred.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein causing an alert to be provided to the user comprises transmitting an alert message to the first electronic device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising, in response to the transmission of the alert message to the first electronic device, the emission by the first electronic device of an audible, tactile or visual alert to the user thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein causing an alert to be provided to the user consists of or comprises transmitting a text message to a second electronic device of said user.

10. Physical computer storage which stores executable code that directs a computer system to perform the method of claim 1.

11. A computer system comprising one or more computing devices, said computer system programmed, via instructions represented in computer storage, to perform the method of claim 1.