Transaction device, equipment and method for protecting account numbers and their associated personal identification numbers

• US 5,627,355 A
• Filed: 04/13/1995
• Issued: 05/06/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Secure Information Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Adarsh Pun, Grant Parker, James Magner, John Brown, Sam Rahman
• Inventors: Brown, John, Magner, James, Rahman, Sam, Parker, Grant, Pun, Adarsh
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajec, Donald T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, MICHAEL GUNYOUNG
• Application Number:
  US08/422,708
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/379, 380/23, 380/24, 380/25, 380/46
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3415 Cards acting autonomously as pay-media
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4097 using mutual authentication between devices and transaction partners
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1075 PIN is checked remotely

Abstract

Security equipment protects the relaying of account numbers and personal identification numbers (PIN) by telephonic or other communication link. The equipment includes a host computer an a remote portable transaction device that interact. A credit granting institution generates an account number and a series of unique personal identification numbers for each account number. This information is stored in the host computer'"'"'s memory and is assigned as a reference series to an individual customer account number. An identical series of numbers in the same sequence is stored in the memory of the remote device. In operation, the customer account on the host computer is activated and the host computer'"'"'s memory is indexed sequentially to the first number in the reference series. During the use of the remote device, a unique personal identification number is added to the customer account number and transmitted to the host computer. There it is compared to the account number and personal identification number in the reference series. The computer will authorize the transaction if the number in the stored series is identical the number in the reference series. Otherwise the transaction will be denied or questioned.

Claims

1. A secure credit card including

a body member including a memory element in which is stored a series of unique numbers in a predetermined sequence,

said unique numbers being identical to numbers stored in a memory of a host control computer and in the identical sequence as the numbers in the host computer, said host computer being accessible upon each use of the credit card,

said memory element accessing the next number in sequence with each use of the credit card to permit verification by comparing the number provided by said memory element upon each use of the credit card with the next number in sequence as indicated by the host computer,

a switch actuated with each use of the credit card to activate the memory element to provide the next number in the sequence,

a counter which counts each use of the credit card, and

a display device in the body member connected electrically to the memory element, said display device displaying the next number in the sequence with each use of the credit card.

2. The secure credit card of claim 1 where memory element is an electronically programmable read only element.

3. The secure credit card of claim 2 including a microprocessor controller which is electrically coupled to the electronically programmable read only memory element.

4. The secure credit card of claim 3 where upon actuation of the switch a pulse signal is provided that is forwarded to the microprocessor controller to activate the microprocessor controller to access the electronically programmable read only memory element.

5. The secure credit card of claim 4 where the counter is connected to the microprocessor controller, said counter counting the number of pulse signals received by the microprocessor.

6. The secure credit card of claim 5 where the counter has a display in which a counter number is displayed.

7. Security equipment for verifying credit transactions, including

a host computer having a memory element in which is stored a plurality of individual account numbers which are authorized to conduct credit transactions,

each account number having associated therewith a reference series of unique personal identification numbers, the numbers in said reference series being in a predetermined sequence, and only one individual number being used with each credit transaction conducted, said one individual number being from a selected references series that corresponds to the individual account number against which the credit transaction is charged,

a plurality of remote, portable devices, each one of said remote devices dedicated for use with only one individual account number, each one of said remote devices including a memory element having stored therein a stored series of personal identification numbers identical in number and sequence to the selected reference series,

each remote device with each use being operable to provide the next number in sequence in said stored series of numbers to permit comparison with the next personal identification number in said selected reference series,

said remote devices comprising a secure credit card which includes

a body member including a memory element in which is stored a series of unique numbers in a predetermined sequence,

said unique numbers being identical to numbers stored in the memory of the host computer and in the identical sequence as the numbers in the host computer, said host computer being accessible upon each use of the credit card,

said memory element accessing the next number in sequence with each use of the credit card to permit verification by comparing the account number and the number provided by said memory element upon each use of the credit card with the account number and the next number in sequence as indicated by the host computer,

a switch actuated with each use of the credit card to activate the memory element to provide the next number in the sequence,

a counter which counts each use of the credit card, and

a display device in the body member connected electrically to the memory element, said display device displaying the next number in the sequence with each use of the credit card, and

a communication link for establishing communication with the host computer with each individual credit transaction, said communication link transmitting to the host computer the account number and the next in sequence individual personal identification number in the stored series for the remote device used to conduct the credit transaction,

said host computer confirming that said transaction is authorized by comparing said account number and said next in sequence personal identification number provided by the remote device with the account number and the next number in sequence in the selected reference series of numbers as indicated by the host computer, said transaction being authorized when both said account number and said personal identification number are identical.

8. The equipment of claim 7 where memory element is an electronically programmable read only element.

9. The equipment of claim 8 including a microprocessor controller which is electrically coupled to the electronically programmable read only memory element.

10. The equipment of claim 9 where upon actuation of the switch a pulse signal is provided that is forwarded to the microprocessor controller to activate the microprocessor controller to access the electronically programmable read only memory element.

11. The equipment of claim 10 where the counter is connected to the microprocessor controller, said counter counting the number of pulse signals received by the microprocessor.

12. The secure credit card of claim 11 where the counter has a display in which a counter number is displayed.

13. The equipment of claim 7 where the remote device is a computer disk.

14. The equipment of claim 7 where the remote device is a radio telephone.

15. A method of verifying that a credit transaction is authorized, including

(a) providing a host computer having a memory element in which is stored a plurality of individual account numbers which are authorized to conduct credit transactions, each account number having associated therewith a reference series of unique personal identification numbers, the numbers in said reference series being in a predetermined sequence, and only one individual number being used with each credit transaction conducted, said one individual number being from a selected references series that corresponds to the individual account number against which the credit transaction is charged,

(b) providing a plurality of remote, portable devices, each one of said remote devices dedicated for use with only one individual account number, each one of said remote devices including a memory element having stored therein a stored series of personal identification numbers identical in number and sequence to the selected reference series, each remote device with each use being operable to provide the next number in sequence in said stored series of numbers to permit comparison with the next personal identification number in said selected reference series,

(c) using a remote device to conduct a credit transaction and transmitting to the host computer the account number and the number in the stored series provided by said remote device,

(d) comparing said number provided in step (c) with the next number in sequence in the reference series as indicated by the host computer,

(e) not authorizing the transaction if the number generated with the use of the remote device does not match the next number in sequence as indicated by the host computer, and

(f) if the transaction is not authorized in step (e), searching forward and backward in the reference Series a predetermined number of said reference Series numbers to determine if said number generated with the use of the remote device is within the scope of the search, and authorizing the transaction if said number generated is within the scope of the search.

16. The method of claim 15 where the remote device is a credit card.

17. The method of claim 15 where the remote device is a computer disk.

18. The method of claim 15 where the remote device is a radio telephone.

19. Equipment for making credit transactions, including

a remote, portable transaction device and a host computer adapter to be placed in communication with each other when a credit transaction is to be authorized,

said host computer having a memory element in which is stored a plurality of individual account numbers which are authorized to conduct credit transactions,

each account number having associated therewith a reference series of unique personal identification numbers, the numbers in said reference series being in a predetermined sequence, and only one individual number being used with each credit transaction conducted, said one individual number being from a selected references series that corresponds to an individual account number against which the credit transaction is charged,

said transaction device having a memory element in which is stored a series of unique numbers in a predetermined sequence, said unique numbers being identical to numbers stored in the memory element of the host control computer and in the identical sequence as the numbers in the host computer,

said memory element of the transaction device providing the next unique number in sequence with each use of the transaction device to permit verification by comparing the account number and the number provided with each use of the transaction device with the next number in sequence as indicated by the host computer,

said host computer confirming that said transaction is authorized by comparing said account number and said next in sequence personal identification number provided by the transaction device with the account number and the next number in sequence in the selected reference series of numbers as indicated by the host computer, said transaction being authorized when both said account number and said personal identification number are identical

said remote device comprising a secure credit card which includes

a body member including said memory element in which is stored said series of unique numbers,

a switch actuated with each use of the credit card to activate the memory element to provide the next number in the sequence,

a counter which counts each use of the credit card, and

a display device in the body member connected electrically to the memory element, said display device displaying the next number in the sequence with each use of the credit card.