Anonymous shopping transactions on a network through information broker services

• US 8,386,333 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Sonderegger, Kelly Ervin, Young, Russell T., Perkins, Arn D., Robertson, John M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pond, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US13/174,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20110258078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.42
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0615 Anonymizing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A system and method for enabling a user to transact an anonymous on-line transaction, wherein a form of on-line payment is requested at a transaction interface is disclosed. The method may include providing an anonymous user interface that enables a user to initiate an on-line payment, accessing a first profile comprising user data when the user activates the form of on-line payment, generating a second profile linked to the first profile, wherein the second profile comprises anonymous data, and communicating the anonymous data from the second profile to the transaction interface to enable completion of the transaction.

Claims

1. A method for conducting anonymous shopping transactions on a network, comprising:

providing, by an information broker computer, a client computer with an anonymous shopping toolbar to execute in a browser on the client computer;

receiving, at the information broker computer, an anonymous credit card request associated with an on-line transaction from the client computer via the anonymous shopping toolbar, wherein the information broker computer receives the anonymous credit card request over a network;

creating, at the information broker computer, a unique single-use anonymous credit card number in response to the anonymous credit card request, wherein the unique single-use anonymous credit card number has an expiration date corresponding to a month and a year in which the anonymous credit card number is created;

linking the anonymous credit card number generated in response to the anonymous credit card request to a real credit card account associated with the client computer; and

sending the anonymous credit card number from the information broker computer to the client computer, wherein the anonymous shopping toolbar provided to the client computer performs an auto-form fill-in procedure to automatically insert the anonymous credit card number into a transaction form associated with a merchant and automatically transmit the auto-filled transaction form to the merchant to complete the on-line transaction.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein generating the unique single-use anonymous credit card number includes:

determining whether the information broker computer has already issued a maximum number of unique anonymous credit card numbers in the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created, wherein the expiration date associated with the unique single-use anonymous credit card number corresponds to the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created if the information broker computer has issued less than the maximum number of unique anonymous credit card numbers in the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created; and

using one or more numbers from the real credit card account in the anonymous credit card number if the information broker computer has already issued the maximum number of unique anonymous credit card numbers in the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created.

3. The method recited in claim 2, wherein using one or more numbers from the real credit card account in the anonymous credit card number enables the information broker computer to issue additional unique credit card numbers up to the maximum number per week.

4. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the information broker computer, an anonymous delivery request associated with the on-line transaction from the client computer;

generating, at the information broker computer, an anonymous delivery address in response to the anonymous delivery request, wherein the anonymous delivery address corresponds to an address associated with a delivery service hub station and has a routing code embedded therein;

linking the routing code embedded in the address associated with the delivery service hub station to a real delivery address associated with the client computer; and

sending the anonymous delivery address from the information broker computer to the client computer, wherein the anonymous shopping toolbar provided to the client computer further performs the auto-form fill-in procedure to automatically insert the anonymous delivery address into a shipping address form associated with the merchant and automatically transmit the auto-filled shipping address form to the merchant to complete the on-line transaction.

5. The method recited in claim 4, wherein the delivery service determines the real delivery address associated with the client computer from the routing code embedded in the address associated with the delivery service hub station to route deliveries from the merchant to the real address associated with the client computer.

6. The method recited in claim 4, wherein the client computer communicates the real delivery address associated with the client computer and information to bill the client computer within the anonymous delivery request.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, at the information broker computer, profile information for one or more users, each of the one or more users associated with a respective one or more client computers,

wherein creating the unique single-use credit, card number comprises creating the unique single-used credit card number based on stored profile information of a user associated with the client computer.

8. A system for conducting anonymous on-line transactions, comprising:

an information broker computer having one or more processors configured to;

provide a client computer with an anonymous shopping toolbar to execute in a browser on the client computer;

receive an anonymous credit card request associated with an on-line transaction over a network from the client computer via the anonymous shopping toolbar;

create a unique single-use anonymous credit card number in response to the anonymous credit card request, wherein the unique single-use anonymous credit card number has an expiration date corresponding to a month and a year in which the anonymous credit card number is created;

link the anonymous credit card number to a real credit card account associated with the client computer; and

send the anonymous credit card number to the client computer, wherein the anonymous shopping toolbar provided to the client computer is configured to perform an auto-form fill-in procedure to automatically insert the anonymous credit card number into a transaction form associated with a merchant and automatically transmit the auto-filled transaction form to the merchant to complete the on-line transaction.

9. The system recited in claim 8 wherein to generate the unique single-use anonymous credit card number, the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine whether a maximum number of unique anonymous credit card numbers have already been issued in the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created, wherein the expiration date associated with the unique single-use anonymous credit card number corresponds to the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created if less than the maximum number of unique anonymous credit card numbers have been issued in the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created; and

use one or more numbers from the real credit card account in the anonymous credit card number if the maximum number of unique anonymous credit card numbers have already been issued in the month and the year in which the anonymous credit card number is created.

10. The system recited in claim 9 wherein using one or more numbers from the real credit card account in the anonymous credit card number enables the one or more processors to issue additional unique credit card numbers up to the maximum number per week.

11. The system recited in claim 8 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

receive an anonymous delivery request associated with the on-line transaction from the client computer;

generate an anonymous delivery address in response to the anonymous delivery request, wherein the anonymous delivery address corresponds to an address associated with a delivery service hub station and has a routing code embedded therein;

link the routing code embedded in the address associated with the delivery service hub station to a real delivery address associated with the client computer; and

send the anonymous delivery address from the information broker computer to the client computer, wherein the anonymous shopping toolbar provided to the client computer is configured to further perform the auto-form fill-in procedure to automatically insert the anonymous delivery address into a shipping address form associated with the merchant and automatically transmit the auto-filled shipping address form to the merchant to complete the on-line transaction.

12. The system recited in claim 11 wherein the delivery service determines the real delivery address associated with the client computer from the routing code embedded in the address associated with the delivery service hub station to route deliveries from the merchant to the real address associated with the client computer.

13. The system recited in claim 11, wherein the client computer communicates the real delivery address associated with the client computer and information to bill the client computer within the anonymous delivery request.

14. The system of claim 8

wherein the one or more processors of the information broker computer is further configured to store profile information for one or more users, each of the one or more users associated with a respective one or more client computers, and

wherein, when the one or more processors is configured to create the unique single-use credit card number, the one or more processors is configured to create the unique single-use credit card number based on stored profile information of a user associated with the client computer.

15. A computer readable storage medium containing computer executable instructions for conducting anonymous on-line transactions, wherein executing the computer executable instructions on a processor causes the processor to:

display an anonymous shopping toolbar in a browser executing on a client computer;

communicate an anonymous credit card request associated with an on-line transaction to an information broker computer over a network in response to an input that selects an anonymous credit card option associated with the anonymous shopping toolbar;

receive a unique single-use anonymous credit card number linked to a real credit card associated with the client computer from the information broker computer, the unique single-use anonymous credit card number being created by the information broker computer in response to receiving the communicated anonymous credit card request, wherein the unique single-use anonymous credit card number has an expiration date corresponding to a month and a year in which the anonymous credit card number is created; and

use the anonymous shopping toolbar to perform an auto-form fill-in procedure to automatically insert the anonymous credit card number into a transaction form associated with a merchant and automatically transmit the auto-filled transaction form from the client computer to the merchant to complete the on-line transaction.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15

wherein executing the computer executable instructions on a processor further causes the processor to store profile information for one or more users, each of the one or more users associated with a respective one or more client computers, and

wherein the unique single-use anonymous credit card number being created by the information broker computer in response to receiving the communicated anonymous credit card request is being created based on stored profile information of a user associated with the client computer.