METHODOLOGY THAT USES CULTURE INFORMATION AS A MEANS TO DETECT SPAM

• US 20140379812A1
• Filed: 06/21/2013
• Published: 12/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: LeBlanc, Ralph E. Jr., Lu, Fang, Abou Mahmoud, Alaa, Bastide, Paul R. II
• Granted Patent: US 10,164,923 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking

Abstract

A method, system and computer-usable medium are disclosed for using culture-related information for detecting spam. Cultural aspect data corresponding to a recipient or a sender of an electronic communication is processed to generate spam detection rules, which are in turn used to detect electronic communications that may be spam.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for using culturally-based information to detect spam, comprising:

determining a culture of a sender of an electronic communication;

performing spam detection operations on the electronic communication to determine whether the electronic communication is spam, the spam detection operations comprising using a first set of cultural aspect spam detection rules corresponding to the culture of the sender; and

marking the communication as spam if the spam detection operations indicate that the electronic communication is not consistent with the culture.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a culture of the recipient of the communication; and

using a second set of cultural aspect spam detection rules corresponding to the culture of the recipient to perform the spam detection operations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the culture of the sender is determined according to at least one member of the set of:

the location of the sender;

the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the sender;

a domain name associated with the sender;

membership of the sender in a social group;

information about the sender; and

a relationship of the sender and the recipient.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving cultural aspect data related to the recipient; and

processing the cultural aspect data to generate the second set of cultural aspect spam detection rules.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the cultural aspect data comprises at least one member of the set of:

a culture associated with the recipient;

a language associated with the recipient;

a religion associated with the recipient;

a title associated with the recipient;

the age of the recipient;

a relationship of the sender and the recipient;

a greeting associated with the culture of the recipient; and

a salutation associated with the culture of the recipient.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

marking the electronic communication as possible spam; and

processing the electronic communication to identify the sender of the electronic communication as a source of spam, the processing performed in response to one member of the set of;

receiving a request from the intended recipient of the electronic communication; and

receiving confirmation from the intended recipient that the electronic communication is spam.

7. A system comprising:

a processor;

a data bus coupled to the processor; and

a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code used for using culturally-based information to detect spam and comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for;

determining a culture of a sender of an electronic communication;

performing spam detection operations on the electronic communication to determine whether the electronic communication is spam, the spam detection operations comprising using a first set of cultural aspect spam detection rules corresponding to the culture of the sender; and

marking the communication as spam if the spam detection operations indicate that the electronic communication is not consistent with the culture.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

determining a culture of the recipient of the communication; and

using a second set of cultural aspect spam detection rules corresponding to the culture of the recipient to perform the spam detection operations.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the culture of the sender is determined according to at least one member of the set of:

the location of the sender;

the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the sender;

a domain name associated with the sender;

membership of the sender in a social group;

information about the sender; and

a relationship of the sender and the recipient.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving cultural aspect data related to the recipient; and

processing the cultural aspect data to generate the second set of cultural aspect spam detection rules.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the cultural aspect data comprises at least one member of the set of:

a culture associated with the recipient;

a language associated with the recipient;

a religion associated with the recipient;

a title associated with the recipient;

the age of the recipient;

a relationship of the sender and the recipient;

a greeting associated with the culture of the recipient; and

a salutation associated with the culture of the recipient.

12. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

marking the electronic communication as possible spam; and

processing the electronic communication to identify the sender of the electronic communication as a source of spam, the processing performed in response to one member of the set of;

receiving a request from the intended recipient of the electronic communication; and

receiving confirmation from the intended recipient that the electronic communication is spam.

13. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for:

determining a culture of a sender of an electronic communication;

performing spam detection operations on the electronic communication to determine whether the electronic communication is spam, the spam detection operations comprising using a first set of cultural aspect spam detection rules corresponding to the culture of the sender; and

marking the communication as spam if the spam detection operations indicate that the electronic communication is not consistent with the culture.

14. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a culture of the recipient of the communication; and

using a second set of cultural aspect spam detection rules corresponding to the culture of the recipient to perform the spam detection operations.

15. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the culture of the sender is determined according to at least one member of the set of:

the location of the sender;

the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the sender;

a domain name associated with the sender;

membership of the sender in a social group;

information about the sender; and

a relationship of the sender and the recipient.

16. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving cultural aspect data related to the recipient; and

processing the cultural aspect data to generate the second set of cultural aspect spam detection rules.

17. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the cultural aspect data comprises at least one member of the set of:

a culture associated with the recipient;

a language associated with the recipient;

a religion associated with the recipient;

a title associated with the recipient;

the age of the recipient;

a relationship of the sender and the recipient;

a greeting associated with the culture of the recipient; and

a salutation associated with the culture of the recipient.

18. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

marking the electronic communication as possible spam; and

processing the electronic communication to identify the sender of the electronic communication as a source of spam, the processing performed in response to one member of the set of;

receiving a request from the intended recipient of the electronic communication; and

receiving confirmation from the intended recipient that the electronic communication is spam.

19. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the computer executable instructions are deployable to a client system from a server system at a remote location.

20. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the computer executable instructions are provided by a service provider to a user on an on-demand basis.