Method and apparatus for securing digital communications

• US 6,466,780 B1
• Filed: 09/03/1997
• Issued: 10/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Interlok Key Management LLC
• Original Assignee: Interlott Technologies Incorporated (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Geiselman, J. Milton, Lerner, Daniel M., Bobola, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Doris H.
• Application Number:
  US08/922,884
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: 455/403, 455/410, 455/411, 455/422, 455/527-528, 455/502, 455/412, 455/575, 341/176, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/825.2, 380/23, 702/64, 702/75
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• 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 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for identifying and minimizing the use of cloned communicating devices which communicate with a host device. The method requires that the communicating devices send a transaction specific code and an identification code, along with each communication wherein the transaction specific code changes between each communication. One communicating device, either the authentic device or a fraudulent device might communicate with the host successfully any number of times. However, when a second devices attempts communication whether that device is the authorized device or fraudulent device, the host device will receive a transaction specific code which is inconsistent or out of sequence with that expected by the host. The host device will preferably disallow all further communications involving the particular identification code until the authorized user can be contacted and the transaction specific code reset or even a new set of transaction specific codes are provided. Alternatively, upon detection of the inconsistent transaction specific code, the host computer may prompt the user for information specific to the authorized user that is not stored in the communicating device and would not be readily available to the clone device or the user of the clone device.

Claims

1. A method of preventing the use of a fraudulent device, comprising:

(a) providing a first communicating device with a first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a second communicating device with a second sequence of transaction specific codes, wherein the first and second sequences are identical;

(c) setting pointers in the first and second sequences at the same transaction specific code;

(d) transmitting a communication from the first communicating device to the second communicating device along with the transaction specific code indicated by the pointer in the first sequence, wherein the communication and transaction specific code do not comprise account numbers;

(e) refusing communications having a transaction specific code that is different from the transaction specific code indicated by the pointer in the second communicating device; and

(f) incrementing the pointers in a predetermined sequence within both the first and second sequences to the next transaction specific code in the absence of an interrogation transmission from the second communicating device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is stored in a database.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is calculated.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second sequence of transaction specific codes is calculated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a credit card and the second communicating device is a central clearinghouse, and wherein the device identification code is not an account number for the credit card.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a cellular telephone and the second communicating device is a cellular network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a garage door remote and the second communicating device is a garage door opener.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is an automobile remote unlocking device and the second communicating device is an automobile remote unlocking device receiver.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a computer and the second communicating device is a computer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communicating device is a direct broadcast television system and the second communicating device is a television receiver.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication is authenticated through a means selected from electrical, radio, chemical and optical.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of incrementing the pointers is performed after each communication.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of incrementing the pointers is performed for each successful communication.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the incrementing of the pointers is synchronized.

15. A method of authenticating a communication comprising:

(a) providing a first communicating device with a first identification code and a first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a host communicating device with the first identification code and the first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(c) setting pointers in the first sequence of transaction specific codes of both the first communicating device and the host device at the same transaction specific code;

(d) transmitting a communication from the first communicating device to the host communicating device along with the first identification code and the transation specific code associated with the pointer in the first sequence of transaction specific codes, wherein the first identification code and the transaction specific code do not comprise an account number;

(e) disallowing communications transmitted with the first identification code that have a transaction specific code that is different from the transaction specific code associated with the pointer in the first sequence of transaction specific codes; and

(f) incrementing the pointers in the first communicating device and the host communicating device in a common predetermined sequence in the absence of an interrogation transmission from the second communicating device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is stored in a database.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is calculated.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the second sequence of transaction specific codes is calculated.

19. A method of preventing the use of cloned device, comprising:

(a) providing each of a plurality of communicating devices with a device identification code and an associated sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a host communicating device with an identical copy of each of the device identification codes and the associated sequences of transaction specific codes;

(c) setting pointers in the communicating device and the host device at the same transaction specific code in the sequence of transaction specific codes associated with each identification code;

(d) transmitting a communication from the communicating device to the host communicating device along with the device identification code and the transaction specific code associated with the pointer in the sequence of transaction specific codes;

(e) disallowing communications transmitted with the device identification code that have a transaction specific code that is different from the transaction specific code associated with the pointer in the sequence of transaction specific codes, wherein the identification codes and the transaction specific codes do not comprise an account number, and

(f) incrementing the pointers in the communicating device and the host communicating device in a common predetermined sequence in the absence of an interrogation transmission from the second communicating device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is stored in a database.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the first sequence of transaction codes is calculated.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second sequence of transaction specific codes is calculated.

23. A method of communicating, comprising:

(a) providing a first communicating device with a first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a second communicating device with a second sequence of transaction specific codes, wherein the first and second sequences are identical;

(c) setting pointers in the first and second sequences at the same transaction specific code;

(d) transmitting a communication from the first communicating device to the second communicating device along with the transaction specific code adjacent the pointer in the first sequence without transmitting an account number;

(e) refusing communications having a transaction specific code that is different from the transaction specific code adjacent the pointer in the second communicating device; and

(f) incrementing the pointers in a predetermined sequence within both the first and second sequences to the next transaction specific code in the absence of an interrogation transmission from the second communicating device.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the predetermined sequence for incrementing the pointer is the same order as the first and second sequences of transaction specific codes.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the communication is a credit card transaction, and wherein the communication does not include an account number for the credit card.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the transmitted communication passes through a plurality of communicating devices.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the transmitted communication passes through a computer network.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of transmitting the communication includes a manual entry.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the communication further includes a user specific code.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising the step of disallowing the communication if the user specific code is not authorized.

31. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of:

after refusing a communication, resetting the pointer in the host database upon receiving a series of attempted communications having a series of transaction specific codes that match a portion of the database.

32. The method of claim 23, wherein the pointer in both databases is directed to the same field containing the same transaction specific code prior to the first communication.

33. The method of claim 23, wherein the first and second communicating devices are capable of transmitting or receiving communications from or to a plurality of other communicating devices.

34. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of resetting the pointer in the host communicating device upon receiving a series of attempted communications having transaction specific codes that match a portion of the database.

35. A method of communicating, comprising:

(a) providing a first communicating device with a first sequence of transaction specific codes;

(b) providing a second communicating device with a second sequence of transaction specific codes, wherein the first and second sequences are identical;

(c) setting pointers in the first and second sequences at the same transaction specific code;

(d) transmitting a communication from the first communicating device to the second communicating device along with the transaction specific code adjacent the pointer in the first sequence and without transmitting an account number;

(e) refusing communications having a transaction specific code that is not identical to a transaction specific code in the second communicating device within a predetermined range of fields in the sequence subsequent to the pointer in the second communicating device; and

(f) incrementing the pointers in a predetermined sequence within both the first and second sequences to the next transaction specific code in the absence of an interrogation transmission from the second communicating device.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of resetting the pointer in the second communicating device to the field having a transaction specific code identical to the received transaction specific code if the field is within the predetermined range of fields subsequent to the pointer.