MASKING PHONE NUMBERS

• US 20130171969A1
• Filed: 12/29/2011
• Published: 07/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Ur, Shmuel
• Granted Patent: US 9,020,468 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42008 Systems for anonymous communication between parties, e.g. by use of disposal contact identifiers

Abstract

In one example of masking phone numbers, a roster of changeable phone numbers may be assigned to a target phone, a presence of the target phone may be registered to a local cell site, a request for one of the changeable phone numbers that is assigned to the target phone for a current time frame may be received, and a phone call that is intended for the target phone may be facilitated using an assigned one of the changeable phone numbers that is assigned to the target phone for the current time frame.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium to store one or more executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to:

receive a roster of changeable phone numbers that are assignable to a target phone;

register a presence of the target phone to a local cell site;

receive a request for one of the changeable phone numbers that is assigned to the target phone for a current time frame; and

facilitate a phone call intended for the target phone at an assigned one of the changeable phone numbers that is assigned to the target phone for the current time frame.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable medium is hosted on the target phone.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable medium is hosted on a cloud-based server.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the target phone has a static phone number.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the one or more executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to receive a roster of changeable numbers further cause the one or more processors to assign respective ones of the changeable phone numbers to the static phone number on a rotating basis upon passage of time within an acceptable time range.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the one or more executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to receive a request further cause the one or more processors to register the assigned one of the changeable phone number for the current time frame with the locate cell cite.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the one or more executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to facilitate a phone call further cause the one or more processors to enable the phone call if the assigned one of the changeable phone numbers for the current time frame is not currently being used.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the one or more executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to facilitate a phone call further cause the one or more processors to disable the phone call if the assigned one of the changeable phone numbers for the current time frame is currently being used.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the changeable phone numbers are assignable to multiple mobile phones, including the target phone.

10. A system, comprising:

a server configured to provide make available a plurality of changeable phone numbers for multiple mobile phones;

an application configured to assign at least a portion of the plurality of changeable phone numbers to one or more static phone numbers on a rotating basis; and

a target mobile phone, to which the static phone number is assigned, configured to receive calls that are forwarded to one of the plurality of changeable phone numbers.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the server and the application are integrated as part of a cloud-based service.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the server and the application are independent of a mobile telephone service provider.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the application is hosted on the target mobile phone.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the application is further configured to handshake with a local cell cite on a continuing basis.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the handshake includes registering a current one of the portion of the plurality of changeable phone numbers with the local cell cite for a current time frame.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the target phone is further configured to receive a call that is forwarded to one of the portion of the plurality of changeable phone numbers that has been currently registered with a local cell cite, by the application, for a current time frame.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the application is further configured to block the call when the application determines that the one of the plurality of changeable phone numbers that has been currently registered with the local cell cite has been used by another of the multiple mobile phones within a predetermined time frame.

18. A phone, comprising:

an assigned static phone number;

a SIM module configured to change a current dialing number of the phone upon every passage of a predetermined amount of time; and

a masking module configured to register the current dialing number of the phone upon every passage of the predetermined amount of time with a local cell cite.

19. The phone of claim 18, wherein the phone is configured to receive calls intended for the static phone number and forwarded to current dialing number.

20. The phone of claim 18, wherein the predetermined amount of time is less than 10 seconds.

21. The phone of claim 18, wherein the SIM module is assigned a plurality of available dialing numbers by a masking service that is independent of a mobile telephone service provider.

22. The phone of claim 22, wherein the masking service assigned the plurality of available dialing numbers to multiple mobile phones, and the masking module is further configured to prevent the phone from receiving calls that are forwarded to the current dialing number that has been used by one of the multiple mobile phones within a predetermined amount of time.