Method and system for authenticating telephone callers and avoiding unwanted calls
First Claim
1. A method of authenticating a source of a call from a caller to a recipient in a screening service, comprising:
- generating a caller account with the service including registration of a caller identity and registration of a digital signature associated with the caller;
recording the registered caller identity and the digital signature with an authenticator;
intercepting the call by a screener;
receiving a proposed caller identity by the screener from the caller during the call including a phone number associated with the source of the caller;
issuing a challenge by the screener to the caller;
sending a return phone call from the screener to the caller using the phone number shown in the caller identity;
verifying that the caller is in possession of the challenge;
in response to verifying that the caller is in possession of the challenge, encrypting the issued challenge and the proposed caller identity by the caller using the digital signature;
sending the encrypted challenge and the proposed caller identity from the caller to the authenticator;
decrypting the encrypted challenge and the proposed caller identity at the authenticator and authenticating the source of the encrypted challenge by comparing the digital signature sent with the encrypted challenge against the digital signature registered in the caller account;
forwarding the decrypted challenge and the proposed caller identity to the screener;
verifying the decrypted challenge and the caller'"'"'s registered caller identity match the issued challenge and the proposed caller identity received during the call; and
passing the call to the recipient.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A service that handles incoming telephone calls without bothering the telephone subscriber is disclosed. The service permits a call to go through to a subscriber if the service determines that the call is not unwanted and the caller has been unauthenticated. The authentication is based on challenging the caller to prove its identity rather than relying on caller ID displays. Prospective callers pre-register with the service providing caller account information. When a caller is issued a challenge, the caller may prove its authenticity by supplying the challenge back to the service along with its registered information.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of authenticating a source of a call from a caller to a recipient in a screening service, comprising:
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generating a caller account with the service including registration of a caller identity and registration of a digital signature associated with the caller; recording the registered caller identity and the digital signature with an authenticator; intercepting the call by a screener; receiving a proposed caller identity by the screener from the caller during the call including a phone number associated with the source of the caller; issuing a challenge by the screener to the caller; sending a return phone call from the screener to the caller using the phone number shown in the caller identity; verifying that the caller is in possession of the challenge; in response to verifying that the caller is in possession of the challenge, encrypting the issued challenge and the proposed caller identity by the caller using the digital signature; sending the encrypted challenge and the proposed caller identity from the caller to the authenticator; decrypting the encrypted challenge and the proposed caller identity at the authenticator and authenticating the source of the encrypted challenge by comparing the digital signature sent with the encrypted challenge against the digital signature registered in the caller account; forwarding the decrypted challenge and the proposed caller identity to the screener; verifying the decrypted challenge and the caller'"'"'s registered caller identity match the issued challenge and the proposed caller identity received during the call; and passing the call to the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of authenticating a source of a call from a caller to a recipient in a screening service, including:
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intercepting the call by a screener; receiving a caller identity by the screener from the caller; verifying that the caller is registered to a phone number shown in the caller identity; issuing a challenge by the screener to the caller and hanging up the call; sending a return phone call from the screener to the caller using the phone number shown in the caller identity; verifying the caller is in possession of the challenge; and passing the caller to the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A tangible computer readable medium comprising computer-usable program code embodied therein for authenticating a source of a communication from a sender to a recipient using a screening service, the computer-usable program code being configured to:
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generate a sender account sender registration service information with the service including registration of a sender identification, a sender communication address a sender public key and a sender private key; store the sender registration information with an authenticator; intercept the communication by using a screener; receive from the sender the sender identification and the sender communication address; issue an electronic challenge from the screener to the sender; send a return phone call from the screener to the sender verify the sender is in possession of the challenge; in response to verifying that the sender is in possession of the challenge, encrypt the electronic challenge using the sender private key, encrypted by the sender; receive the encrypted electronic challenge by the authenticator from the sender; apply the registered sender public key to the sender private key of the encrypted electronic challenge to decrypt the encrypted electronic challenge; block the communication if the step of applying the registered sender public key to the private key of the encrypted electronic challenge fails to decrypt the challenge; forward the decrypted electronic challenge to the screener; verify with the screener the decrypted electronic challenge matches the challenge issued by the screener; and route the call to the recipient.
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20. A system for authenticating a source of a telecommunication from a sender sent to a subscriber, comprising:
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a data bank configured to store subscriber information and sender registration data; a screener in electronic intermediate communication between the sender and the subscriber for intercepting the telecommunication, issuing a challenge to the sender and forwarding authenticated telecommunications to the subscriber, wherein the screener is configured to send a return phone call from the subscriber to the sender and verify that the sender is in possession of the challenge; an authenticator in electronic communication with the data bank and screener configured to, in response to verifying that the sender is in possession of the challenge, authenticate the source of the telecommunication by comparing the sender registration data stored in the data bank to an encrypted message transmitted from the sender including the challenge issued by the screener and for forwarding an authentication status to the screener; and telecommunication lines configured to a telecommunication network between the sender, the screener, the authenticator, the data bank, and the subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification