Geolocation error tracking in transaction processing

• US 8,850,575 B1
• Filed: 12/30/2011
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Kaufman, Alon, Magi Shaashua, Triinu, Efraim, Harel
• Primary Examiner(s): Tabor, Amare F
• Application Number:
  US13/340,768
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: 726 22- 26, 726/4, 726/30, 713/188, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

An improved technique tracks errors in collecting geolocation data associated with a transaction. Along these lines, an adaptive authentication engine stores information indicative of a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction. In particular, this information takes the form of a geolocation collection state; the adaptive authentication engine stores such a state in a field of a database that contains historical transaction information. If a service provider failed to collect geolocation information for a transaction, the adaptive authentication engine stores a “Fail” value in the geolocation collection state field of the database entry associated with the transaction. Adaptive authentication techniques may then correlate such “Fail” values with other field values such as time of submission and device type. The result of such a correlation is to build a risk model based on geolocation collection error which the risk engine may then use to compute risk score.

Claims

1. A method of identifying risky transactions, comprising:

receiving, from a service provider, a transaction and a message which includes information indicative of a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

generating an authentication result based on the information indicative of the failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction; and

sending the authentication result to the service provider;

wherein receiving the transaction and the message includes;

obtaining, as part of the message, a value of a geolocation error code indicative of a type of failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

wherein the transaction is stored in a current entry of a set of entries of a database, the entry including a current value of a geolocation field;

wherein previous entries of the set of entries of the database store information associated with previous transactions; and

wherein generating the authentication result includes;

producing a percentage of a specified number of previous transactions having a value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code; and

assigning a risk score to the transaction, the risk score being based on the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions.

2. A method according to claim 1,

wherein the method further comprises:

storing the current value of the geolocation error code in the geolocation field of the current entry.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein each entry of the set of entries includes values of transaction attribute fields;

wherein assigning the risk score includes;

providing weights to values of transaction attribute fields of the current entry and corresponding values of transaction attribute fields of the entries of the specified number of previous transactions to produce weighted values of the transaction attribute fields, the risk score being further based on the weighted values of the transaction attribute fields.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the service provider performs a manual investigation whether or not selected transactions having a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transactions, the manual investigation producing an investigation result;

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving the investigation result from the service provider; and

updating the weights to reflect the investigation result.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

if the current value of the geolocation error code indicates that the failure to collect geolocation data was a result of a voluntary action on the part of a user, and the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions having the value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code is less than a threshold value, increasing the risk score for the transaction; and

if the current value of the geolocation error code indicates that the failure to collect geolocation data was a result of a voluntary action on the part of a user, and the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions having the value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code is greater than the threshold value, decreasing the risk score for the transaction.

15. A method as in claim 1, wherein generating the authentication result includes:

providing, as the authentication result, an indication that the service provider is to request additional information from a user; and

wherein the service provider is configured to request additional information from the user in response to the indication.

16. A method as in claim 1, wherein a transaction includes a communication containing transaction data associated with the transaction;

and

wherein receiving the transaction from the service provider includes obtaining the communication containing the transaction data associated with the transaction.

6. A system constructed and arranged to identify risky transactions, the system comprising:

a network interface;

a memory; and

a controller which includes controlling circuitry coupled to the memory, the controlling circuitry being constructed and arranged to;

receive, from a service provider, a transaction and a message which includes information indicative of a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

generate an authentication result based on the information indicative of the failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction; and

send the authentication result to the service provider;

wherein receiving the transaction and the message includes;

obtaining, as part of the message, a value of a geolocation error code indicative of a type of failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

wherein the transaction is stored in a current entry of a set of entries of a database, the entry including a current value of a geolocation field;

wherein previous entries of the set of entries of the database store information associated with previous transactions; and

wherein generating the authentication result includes;

producing a percentage of a specified number of previous transactions having a value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code; and

assigning a risk score to the transaction, the risk score being based on the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions.

7. A system according to claim 6,

wherein the controlling circuitry is further constructed and arranged to:

store the current value of the geolocation error code in the geolocation field of the current entry.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein each entry of the set of entries includes values of transaction attribute fields;

wherein assigning the risk score includes;

providing weights to values of transaction attribute fields of the current entry and corresponding values of transaction attribute fields of the entries of the specified number of previous transactions to produce weighted values of the transaction attribute fields, the risk score being further based on the weighted values of the transaction attribute fields.

9. A system according to claim 8, wherein the service provider performs a manual investigation whether or not selected transactions having a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transactions, the manual investigation producing an investigation result;

wherein the controlling circuitry is further constructed and arranged to;

receive the investigation result from the service provider; and

update the weights to reflect the investigation result.

10. A system according to claim 7, wherein the controlling circuitry is further constructed and arranged to:

if the current value of the geolocation error code indicates that the failure to collect geolocation data was a result of a voluntary action on the part of a user, and the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions having the value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code is less than a threshold value, increase the risk score for the transaction; and

if the current value of the geolocation error code indicates that the failure to collect geolocation data was a result of a voluntary action on the part of a user, and the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions having the value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code is greater than the threshold value, decrease the risk score for the transaction.

11. A computer program product having a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium which stores code to identify risky transactions, the code including instructions to:

receive, from a service provider, a transaction and a message which includes information indicative of a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

generate an authentication result based on the information indicative of the failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction; and

send the authentication result to the service provider;

wherein receiving the transaction and the message includes;

obtaining, as part of the message, a value of a geolocation error code indicative of a type of failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

wherein the transaction is stored in a current entry of a set of entries of a database, the entry including a current value of a geolocation field;

wherein previous entries of the set of entries of the database store information associated with previous transactions; and

wherein generating the authentication result includes;

producing a percentage of a specified number of previous transactions having a value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code; and

assigning a risk score to the transaction, the risk score being based on the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions.

12. A computer program product according to claim 11,

wherein the code further includes instructions to:

store the current value of the geolocation error code in the geolocation field of the current entry.

13. A computer program product according to claim 12, wherein each entry of the set of entries includes values of transaction attribute fields;

wherein assigning the risk score includes;

providing weights to values of transaction attribute fields of the current entry and corresponding values of transaction attribute fields of the entries of the specified number of previous transactions to produce weighted values of the transaction attribute fields, the risk score being further based on the weighted values of the transaction attribute fields.

14. A computer program product according to claim 13, wherein the service provider performs a manual investigation whether or not selected transactions having a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transactions, the manual investigation producing an investigation result;

wherein the code further includes instructions to;

receive the investigation result from the service provider; and

update the weights to reflect the investigation result.

17. A method of identifying risky transactions, comprising:

receiving, from a service provider and by a processor, a transaction and a message which includes information indicative of a failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

generating, by the processor, an authentication result based on the information indicative of the failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction; and

sending, by the processor, the authentication result to the service provider;

wherein receiving the transaction and the message includes;

obtaining, as part of the message, a value of a geolocation error code indicative of a type of failure to collect geolocation data associated with the transaction;

wherein the transaction is stored in a current entry of a set of entries of a database, the entry including a current value of a geolocation field;

wherein previous entries of the set of entries of the database store information associated with previous transactions; and

wherein generating the authentication result includes;

producing a percentage of a specified number of previous transactions having a value of the geolocation field being equal to the current value of the geolocation error code; and

assigning a risk score to the transaction, the risk score being based on the percentage of the specified number of previous transactions.