Identifying and marketing to a user device involved in an online transaction

• US 20110218860A1
• Filed: 05/13/2011
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kount Incorporated (Equifax, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Kount Incorporated (Equifax, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barber, Timothy P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,799,458 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.53
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles

Abstract

An online machine data collection and archiving process generates a machine data profile of a customer computer accessing a transaction form of a merchant web site and links the machine data profile and a transaction record with customer identifying information using a unique transaction identification string. The process may capture parameters typically communicated as a part of web accesses, such as an IP address, an HTTP header, and cookie information. The process additionally causes the customer computer to process self-identification routines by processing coding within the merchant transaction form, the self-identification routines yielding further profile parameters. The process further includes a routine for bypassing an intervening proxy to the merchant web site to reveal the true IP address of the customer computer. Identifying the customer computer is useful for functions such as fraud detection and marketing.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a user device involved in an online transaction with a merchant web site, the method comprising:

receiving a communication from a customer browser of a user device responsive to a redirect script request delivered to the customer browser in response to accessing by the customer browser a merchant web site to effect an online transaction, wherein the redirect script request causes the customer browser to communicate with an archiver to deliver a script request;

returning a machine data collection script from the archiver to the customer browser in response to the script request, the machine data collection script collecting information, including machine identifying information, of the user device; and

storing a transaction record comprising information related to the online transaction including a transaction identification string for use in identifying the online transaction, wherein the transaction identification string associates the machine identifying information with the transaction record for purposes of monitoring for possible fraudulent transactions, wherein the monitoring is based at least in part on the machine identifying information; and

monitoring additional transactions to identify one or more devices to provide marketing to a customer based at least in part on the machine identifying information and the transaction identification string.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing an archiver record comprising the machine identifying information and the transaction identification string, wherein the transaction identification string associates the archiver record with the transaction record for purposes of monitoring for possible fraudulent transactions.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the archiver record comprises a second transaction identification string associated with another online transaction involving the user device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the machine identifying information comprises a configuration setting.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is a mobile communication device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is an electronic game system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is a television set.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is a web appliance for a vehicle.

9. A method for online fraud detection, the method comprising:

receiving one or more communications from a user device, the communications related to an online transaction;

determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications, wherein the device identification information identifies the user device;

storing the device identification information in association with the online transaction; and

monitoring additional transactions to identify one or more devices to provide marketing to a customer based at least in part on comparing the stored device identification information for the online transaction with information about one or more other online transactions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications comprises:

sending a script to the user device, wherein the script comprises instructions to cause the user device to obtain attributes and/or configuration settings of the user device; and

receiving the obtained attributes and/or configuration settings of the user device from the script running on the user device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications comprises:

sending a script to the user device, wherein the script comprises instructions to cause the user device to convert information about the user device into a machine fingerprint; and

receiving the machine fingerprint from the script running on the user device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the machine fingerprint comprises a hash function of a string comprising the information about the user device.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications comprises:

determining the device information based on inherent information in the communications from the user device.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications comprises:

obtaining configuration information based on a message sent from the user device; and

determining the device information based on the obtained configuration information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the obtained configuration information comprises information contained in an HTTP header of a message sent from the user device.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the device identification information is determined based at least in part on one or more configuration settings of a browser program being executed on the user device.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the device identification information is determined based at least in part on a time of day extracted from a clock on the user device.

18. The method of claim 9, wherein the device identification information is determined based at least in part on time configuration settings of a clock on the user device.

19. The method of claim 9, wherein determining device identification information comprises:

sending to the user device a routine, the routine containing instructions to cause the user device to send a message that bypasses any HTTP proxy;

receiving the message; and

obtaining an actual IP address for the user device, the actual IP address associated with the message.

20. The method of claim 9, wherein the device identification information is stored in connection with a customer identity profile, wherein the customer identity profile is associated with a plurality of user devices.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the customer identity profile further includes one or more of a name, address, and credit card information for a customer.

22. The method of claim 9, wherein the device identification information is stored in connection with a customer identity profile, wherein the customer identity profile is associated with a plurality of online transactions.

23. The method of claim 9, wherein the online transaction is a purchase.

24. The method of claim 9, wherein the user device is a mobile communication device.

25. The method of claim 9, wherein the user device is an electronic game system.

26. The method of claim 9, wherein the user device is a television set.

27. The method of claim 9, wherein the user device is a web appliance for a vehicle.

28. A method for online fraud detection, the method comprising:

communicating with a user device in connection with an online transaction;

identifying a set of device settings of the user device based on the communicating;

generating a machine data profile for the user device based on the device settings, wherein the machine data profile identifies the user device;

storing the machine data profile in association with the online transaction; and

analyzing information related to the online transaction and the machine data profile along with information related to at least one other online transaction to identify one or more devices to provide marketing to a customer.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein identifying the set of device settings of the user device comprises:

sending a script to the user device, wherein the script comprises instructions to cause the user device to obtain attributes and/or configuration settings of the user device; and

receiving the obtained attributes and/or configuration settings of the user device from the script running on the user device.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein identifying the set of device settings of the user device comprises:

sending a script to the user device, wherein the script comprises instructions to cause the user device to convert information about the user device into a machine fingerprint; and

receiving the machine fingerprint from the script running on the user device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the machine fingerprint comprises a hash function of a string comprising the information about the user device.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein identifying the set of device settings of the user device comprises:

identifying the set of device settings based on inherent information based on the communicating with the user device.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein identifying the set of device settings of the user device comprises:

obtaining configuration information based on a message sent from the user device; and

determining the device information based on the obtained configuration information.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the obtained configuration information comprises information contained in an HTTP header of a message sent from the user device.

35. The method of claim 28, wherein the device identification information is determined based at least in part on one or more configuration settings of a browser program being executed on the user device.

36. The method of claim 28, wherein the machine data profile is generated based at least in part on a time of day extracted from a clock on the user device.

37. The method of claim 28, wherein the machine data profile is generated based at least in part on time configuration settings of a clock on the user device.

38. The method of claim 28, wherein identifying the set of device settings of the user device comprises:

sending to the user device a routine, the routine containing instructions to cause the user device to send a message that bypasses any HTTP proxy;

receiving the message; and

obtaining an actual IP address for the user device, the actual IP address associated with the message.

39. The method of claim 28, wherein the machine data profile is stored in connection with a customer identity profile, wherein the customer identity profile is associated with a plurality of user devices.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the customer identity profile further includes one or more of a name, address, and credit card information for a customer.

41. The method of claim 28, wherein the machine data profile is stored in connection with a customer identity profile, wherein the customer identity profile is associated with a plurality of online transactions.

42. The method of claim 28, wherein the online transaction is a purchase.

43. The method of claim 28, wherein the user device is a mobile communication device.

44. The method of claim 28, wherein the user device is an electronic game system.

45. The method of claim 28, wherein the user device is a television set.

46. The method of claim 28, wherein the user device is a web appliance for a vehicle.

47. A method for online fraud detection, the method comprising:

receiving communications related to a plurality of online transactions, each online transaction associated with a user device from a plurality of user devices;

determining device identification information from the received communications, wherein the device identification information determined from a communication related to a particular online transaction identifies the user device associated with that online transaction;

storing the device identification information for the plurality of user devices in association with transaction information related to the online transactions associated with the plurality of user devices; and

analyzing the stored device identification and transaction information to identify one or more devices to provide marketing to a customer by comparing the stored device identification and transaction information for multiple online transactions.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications comprises:

sending a script to the user device, wherein the script comprises instructions to cause the user device to obtain attributes and/or configuration settings of the user device; and

receiving the obtained attributes and/or configuration settings of the user device from the script running on the user device.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications comprises:

sending a script to the user device, wherein the script comprises instructions to cause the user device to convert information about the user device into a machine fingerprint; and

receiving the machine fingerprint from the script running on the user device.

50. The method of claim 47, wherein determining device identification information from one or more of the received communications comprises:

determining the device information based on inherent information in the communications from the user device.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein determining device identification information comprises:

sending to the user device a routine, the routine containing instructions to cause the user device to send a message that bypasses any HTTP proxy;

receiving the message; and

obtaining an actual IP address for the user device, the actual IP address associated with the message.

52. The method of claim 47, wherein the device identification information for each of a plurality of user devices is stored in connection with one or more customer identity profiles.

53. The method of claim 47, wherein the user device is a mobile communication device.

54. The method of claim 47, wherein the user device is an electronic game system.

55. The method of claim 47, wherein the user device is a television set.

56. The method of claim 47, wherein the user device is a web appliance for a vehicle.