Reducing mobile-phone fraud

• US 8,295,812 B1
• Filed: 10/15/2010
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Jones, Bryce A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Jinsong
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAYLOR, NATHAN SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US12/905,205
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• Field of Search: 455410-411, 455418-420, 726/26
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/082 using revocation of authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning

Abstract

Methods and products for facilitating a method of reducing mobile-phone fraud are provided. One method includes receiving a request to activate a mobile device, determining that it is identified as lost or stolen, communicating to the mobile device activation data that enables the mobile device to communicate via a wireless-telecommunications network despite the fact that the mobile device was determined to be identified as lost or stolen, and communicating to the mobile device functionality-impairment instructions that deliberately disable a set of functional aspects of the mobile device, thereby transforming it from a first state to a second state that is functionally impaired compared to the first state.

Claims

1. Non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, that, when executed by a computing device, facilitate a method of reducing mobile-phone fraud, the method comprising:

receiving a request to activate a mobile device;

determining that the mobile device is identified as lost or stolen;

communicating to the mobile device activation data, which enables the mobile device to communicate via a wireless-telecommunications network despite the fact that the mobile device was determined to be identified as lost or stolen; and

communicating to the mobile device functionality-impairment instructions, which, when run on the mobile device, deliberately disable a set of functional aspects of the mobile device thereby transforming the mobile device from a first state to a second state and wherein the second state is functionally impaired as compared to the first state;

receiving a request for service;

receiving an indication that the mobile device is experiencing issues that stem from the functionality-impairment instructions;

confirming that the mobile device is reported as lost or stolen;

presenting a notification that the mobile device is reported as lost or stolen; and

storing a description of the functional aspects that were disabled, thereby enabling an indication of the description to be presented incident to troubleshooting the mobile device.

2. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the lost-phone indication is received incident to submitting an inquiry to a database that stores information about mobile devices that are reported as being lost or stolen.

3. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the request to activate the mobile device is received via one or more of the following:

the Internet;

the mobile device.

4. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the determining includes receiving a response from a database that stores information about mobile devices that are reported as being lost or stolen.

5. The computer-readable media of claim 4, where the response is received incident to an inquiry regarding a status of the mobile device, wherein the status includes new or preowned and wherein the preowned status could be further characterized legitimate or illegitimate.

6. The computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the illegitimate characterization indicates one or more of stolen, lost, broken, or unusable.

7. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein communicating the activation data includes instructing a first communications device to send the activation data to the mobile device.

8. The computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein communicating the functionality-impairment instructions includes instructing the first or a second communications device to send the functionality-impairment instructions to the mobile device.

9. The computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the functionality-impairment instructions impair various functional aspects of the mobile device, including one or more of the following aspects:

data-input functionality; and

data-output functionality.

10. The computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein data-input functionality includes one or more of:

keyboard functionality such that certain keys are not responsive to inputting data; and

voice-input functionality.

11. The computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein data-output functionality includes one or more of:

display functionality such that a display of the mobile device presents data in an undesirable manner; and

audio functionality such that sound outputted from the mobile device is outputted in an undesirable manner.

12. The media of claim 1, further comprising communicating to a second mobile device a second set of functionality-impairment instructions that deliberately disable a different set of functional aspects as compared to those associated with the first mobile device.

13. A method of recovering a lost or stolen mobile device, comprising:

incident to receiving input from a technician who has obtained the mobile device in connection with addressing a problem associated with the mobile device, submitting a query to determine whether the mobile device has been reported as being lost or stolen, wherein the problem was deliberately caused by instructions received from a wireless-telecommunications-network provider when activating the mobile device;

wherein the instructions received from the wireless-telecommunications-network provider transition the mobile device from a first state to an impaired state,

wherein the impaired state is characterized as being impaired with respect to the first state, and

wherein the impaired state is further characterized as deliberately disabling functional aspects of one or more of the following,

(1) a keyboard of the mobile device,

(2) a microphone of the mobile device,

(3) a display of the mobile device;

receiving a response to the query; and

presenting a visual indication that the mobile device is reported as being lost or stolen when the mobile device is identified as being lost or stolen.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the input from the technician includes an identifier that uniquely identifies the mobile device.

15. Non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, that, when executed by a computing device, facilitate a method of receiving activation data that is usable to enable a mobile device to be used on a wireless-telecommunications network, the method comprising:

providing activation data;

providing functionality-impairment instructions that, when executed by the mobile device, transition it to an impaired state, wherein the functionality-impairment instructions are activated after a determination that the mobile device is reported as lost or stolen;

automatically executing the functionality-impairment instructions, thereby placing the mobile device into the impaired state, which is characterized by one or more of the following,

(1) keyboard impairment, wherein a selection of buttons no longer input data correctly into the mobile device;

(2) display impairment, wherein a display of the mobile device does not present data correctly;

(3) power impairment, wherein a power supply of the mobile device does not function correctly;

(4) operational impairment, wherein the mobile device does not operate according to normal procedure but for being in the impaired state;

(5) microphone impairment, wherein the microphone of the mobile device does not function correctly.

16. The computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the mobile device is enabled to communicate with other mobile devices by way of the wireless-telecommunications network.

17. The computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein communication ability with the other wireless mobile devices is impeded as a result of the functionality-impairment instructions.