Return fraud protection system

• US 8,942,990 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2011
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Next Level Security Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Next Level Security Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Jankowski, Peter A., Yen, Chen-Lan
• Primary Examiner(s): Ouellette, Jonathan
• Application Number:
  US13/154,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20120310657A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 705 11-912
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A method and a system for determining a return fraud at a store are described. The return fraud protection system has a video recording module, a face capture module, a face icon generator module, and an entrance video clip module. The video recording module records a video at an entrance of the store. The face capture module captures a face of a customer entering the store from the video. The face icon generator module generates a face icon comprising the face of the customer. The entrance video clip generator module generates a video clip of the customer entering the store, associates the video clip of the customer with the corresponding face icon, and provides a client device with a list of face icons with corresponding video clips.

Claims

1. A return fraud protection system comprising:

a gateway comprising;

at least one processor;

a video recording module configured to record a video at an entrance of a store;

a face capture module configured to capture a face of a customer entering the store from the video and the face of the customer at an item return location in the store;

a face icon generator module configured to generate a face icon comprising the face of the customer;

an entrance video clip generator module configured to generate a video clip of the customer entering the store on a same day the customer is at the item return location in the store, to associate the video clip of the customer with the corresponding face icon, and to provide a second client device with a list of face icons with corresponding video clips;

a face icon matching module, implemented with the at least one processor, configured to match the face of the customer captured at the item return location in the store with the face of the customer captured at the entrance of the store;

an application module to monitor or control a security device coupled to the gateway, wherein the application module comprises the video recording module, the face capture module, the face icon generator module, and the entrance video clip generator module;

a communication module configured to enable peer-to-peer communication between a web server, a first client device, the second client device, and other gateways, to receive additional APIs, respective application modules, and respective device drivers, and to copy a configuration of the gateway to other gateways; and

a remote device management module configured to aggregate monitoring data from the security device and from other security devices respectively coupled to other gateways correlated with the gateway by the web server, and to enable the first and second client device to monitor or control the security device coupled to the respective gateway,

the web server comprising a web-based gateway management application configured to identify a gateway associated with a user at the first client device, to authenticate with the user at the first client device, to authenticate with the gateway, and to correlate the identified gateway with the other gateways,

a first client device at the item return location in the store, the first device configured to generate a notification to the second client device in response to determining that an item is being returned by the customer without a receipt at the item return location; and

the second client device at a security office location configured to retrieve the face icon corresponding to the face of the customer at the item return location in response to the notification from the first client device, to retrieve video clips only generated the same day of the notification and prior to the notification from the first client device, the video clips associated with the corresponding face icon, and to notify the first client device of a return fraud based on the retrieved video clips of the customer entering the store on the same day that the customer is returning the item without the receipt.

2. The return fraud protection system of claim 1 wherein the entrance video clip generator module is configured to provide the second client device with the list of face icons of the faces of customers entering the store after an opening of the store and before a closing of the store on the same day that the customer is returning the item without the receipt.

3. The return fraud protection system of claim 1 wherein the entrance video clip generator module is configured to receive from the first client device a notification of the customer attempting to return the item without receipt at the item return location in the store, the entrance video clip generator module configured to provide the first client device with the list of face icons of the faces of customers that have entered the store on the same day of the notification from the first client device, within a predetermined amount of time from receiving the notification.

4. The return fraud protection system of claim 1 wherein the face of the customer entering the store and the face of the customer at the item return location in the store are captured on the same day.

5. The return fraud protection system of claim 1 further comprising:

a bar code module configured to identify the item based on a bar code of the item being returned at the item return location in the store;

an aisle identifier module configured to identify an aisle in the store corresponding to the identified item;

an aisle camera identifier module configured to identify a camera associated with the aisle; and

an aisle video clip generator module configured to generate a video clip of the identified aisle in the store within a predetermined amount of time from a time the item is being returned at the item return location in the store.

6. The return fraud protection system of claim 1 wherein the first client device is configured to display a list of face icons of customers substantially matching the face of the customer captured at the return location.

7. The return fraud protection system of claim 1 wherein the gateway comprises:

an application programming interface (API) to interface the gateway with the client device;

a device driver to enable interaction of the application module with the corresponding security device.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

recording, at a gateway, a video at an entrance of a store;

capturing, at the gateway, a face of a customer entering the store from the video and the face of the customer at an item return location in the store;

generating, at the gateway, a face icon comprising the face of the customer;

generating, at the gateway, a video clip of the customer entering the store on a same day the customer is at the item return location in the store;

associating, at the gateway, the video clip of the customer with the corresponding face icon;

providing, at the gateway, a second client device with a list of face icons with corresponding video clips;

matching, using at least one processor at the gateway, the face of the customer captured at the item return location in the store with the face of the customer captured at the entrance of the store;

controlling a security device coupled to the gateway;

enabling peer-to-peer communication between a web server, a first client device, the second client device, and other gateways, to receive additional APIs, respective application modules, and respective device drivers; and

copying a configuration of the gateway to other gateways;

aggregating monitoring data from the security device and from other security devices respectively coupled to other gateways correlated with the gateway by the web server, and to enable the first and second client device to monitor or control the security device coupled to the respective gateway,

identifying, at the web server, a gateway associated with a user at the first client device;

authenticating, at the web server, with the user at the first client device;

authenticating, at the web server, with the identified gateway;

correlating, at the web server, the identified gateway with the other gateways;

generating, at a first client device, a notification to the second client device in response to determining that an item is being returned by the customer without a receipt at the item return location; and

retrieving, at the second client device, the face icon corresponding to the face of the customer at the item return location in response to the notification from the first client device, video clips only generated the same day of the notification and prior to the notification from the first client device, the video clips associated with the corresponding face icon, and notifying the first client device of a return fraud based on the retrieved video clips of the customer entering the store on the same day that the customer is returning the item without the receipt.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 further comprising:

providing the second client device with the list of face icons of the faces of the customers entering the store in one day after an opening of the store and before a closing of the store on the same day that the customer is returning the item without the receipt.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 further comprising:

receiving from the first client device a notification of a customer attempting to return the item without receipt at the item return location in the store; and

providing the first client device with the list of face icons of the faces of customers that have entered the store on the same day of the notification from the first client device, within a predetermined amount of time from receiving the notification.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein the face of the customer entering the store and the face of the customer at the item return location in the store are captured on the same day.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 further comprising:

identifying the item based on a bar code of the item being returned at the item return location in the store;

identifying an aisle in the store corresponding to the identified item;

identifying a camera associated with the aisle; and

generating a video clip the identified aisle in the store within a predetermined amount of time from a time when the item is being returned at the item return location in the store.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 further comprising:

displaying a list of face icons of customers substantially matching the face of the customer captured at the return location.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, comprising:

recording, at a gateway, a video at an entrance of a store;

capturing, at the gateway, a face of a customer entering the store from the video and the face of the customer at an item return location in the store;

generating, at the gateway, a face icon comprising the face of the customer;

generating, at the gateway, a video clip of the customer entering the store on a same day the customer is at the item return location in the store;

associating, at the gateway, the video clip of the customer with the corresponding face icon;

providing, at the gateway, a second client device with a list of face icons with corresponding video clips;

matching, using at least one processor at the gateway, the face of the customer captured at the item return location in the store with the face of the customer captured at the entrance of the store;

controlling a security device coupled to the gateway;

enabling peer-to-peer communication between a web server, a first client device, the second client device, and other gateways, to receive additional APIs, respective application modules, and respective device drivers; and

copying a configuration of the gateway to other gateways;

aggregating monitoring data from the security device and from other security devices respectively coupled to other gateways correlated with the gateway by the web server, and to enable the first and second client device to monitor or control the security device coupled to the respective gateway,

identifying, at the web server, a gateway associated with a user at the first client device;

authenticating, at the web server, with the user at the first client device;

authenticating, at the web server, with the identified gateway;

correlating, at the web server, the identified gateway with the other gateways;

generating, at a first client device, a notification to the second client device in response to determining that an item is being returned by the customer without a receipt at the item return location; and

retrieving, at the second client device, the face icon corresponding to the face of the customer at the item return location in response to the notification from the first client device, video clips only generated the same day of the notification and prior to the notification from the first client device, the video clips associated with the corresponding face icon, and notifying the first client device of a return fraud based on the retrieved video clips of the customer entering the store on the same day that the customer is returning the item without the receipt.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 further comprising:

providing the second client device with the list of face icons of the faces of the customers entering the store in one day after an opening of the store and before a closing of the store on the same day that the customer is returning the item without the receipt.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 further comprising:

receiving from the first client device a notification of a customer attempting to return the item without receipt at the item return location in the store; and

providing the first client device with the list of face icons of the faces of customers that have entered the store on the same day of the notification from the first client device, within a predetermined amount of time from receiving the notification.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the face of the customer entering the store and the face of the customer at the item return location in the store are captured on the same day.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 further comprising:

identifying the item based on a bar code of the item being returned at the item return location in the store;

identifying an aisle in the store corresponding to the identified item;

identifying a camera associated with the aisle; and

generating a video clip the identified aisle in the store within a predetermined amount of time from a time the item is being returned at the item return location in the store.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 further comprising:

displaying a list of face icons of customers substantially matching the face of the customer captured at the return location.