Methods to improve fraud detection on conference calling systems based on observation of participants' call time durations

• US 9,094,521 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2013
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lingafelt, Charles S., Swantek, James T., Murray, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): GAY, SONIA L
• Application Number:
  US13/917,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20130279679A1
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 379/202.01
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1818 Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/12 Counting circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15

Abstract

An embodiment of the invention includes a method for detecting fraudulent use in a conference calling system. One or more time duration thresholds are received for a conference call. The conference call is monitored to determine an attendee duration, a participants duration, and/or a conference call duration. The attendee duration represents the call duration of an attendee of the conference call; the participants duration represents the total call duration of all of the attendees combined; and, the conference call duration represents the call duration of the conference call. The time duration thresholds are compared to the attendee duration, participants duration, and/or conference call duration. Actions are performed by a processor if the attendee duration, participants duration, and/or conference call duration exceeds the time duration thresholds.

Claims

1. A method for detecting fraudulent use in a conference calling system, the method including:

receiving at least one time duration threshold for a conference call of the conference calling system;

monitoring the conference call to determine at least one of a first call duration, a second call duration, and a third call duration,

the first call duration including a call duration of at least one attendee of the conference call,

the second call duration including a total call duration of all of the attendees of the conference call combined, and

the third call duration including a call duration for the conference call;

comparing the time duration threshold to at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration with a processor;

performing actions with the processor if at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration exceeds the time duration threshold; and

permitting the conference call to continue if the time duration threshold exceeds the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration, when said comparing of the time duration threshold includes comparing the time duration threshold to the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one time duration threshold includes a first call duration threshold, a second call duration threshold, and a third call duration threshold,

the first call duration threshold including a maximum allowed call duration for the at least one attendee of the conference call,

the second call duration threshold including a maximum allowed total call duration for all of the attendees of the conference call combined, and

the third call duration threshold including a maximum allowed call duration for the conference call.

3. The method according to claim 2, further including:

receiving a passcode to enter the conference call from an attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold;

obtaining first information from a person assigned the passcode;

obtaining second information from the attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold;

determining whether the first information matches the second information; and

sending an alert to the attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold if the first information matches the second information.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the performing of the actions includes, sending an alert to the at least one attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold if the first information matches the second information, the alert indicating that the time duration threshold has been exceeded.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first information includes at least one of an employee number, an identification badge number, a home telephone number, a home address, a mobile telephone number, an e-mail address, an office telephone number, an office address, and at least one answer to at least one security question entered by the person assigned the passcode.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the performing of the actions includes sending an alert to at least one of an administrator of the conference calling system, a moderator of the conference call, participants of the conference call, and at least one security personnel, the alert indicating that the time duration threshold has been exceeded.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the performing of the actions includes at least one of permitting an administrator of the conference calling system to enter the conference call, terminating the conference call, and voiding at least one passcode to the conference call.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the performing of the actions includes generating and storing a report, where the report includes at least one of the time duration threshold, the first call duration, the second call duration, the third call duration, at least one passcode to the conference call, and the actions performed.

9. A method for detecting fraudulent use in a conference calling system, the method including:

receiving at least one time duration threshold for a conference call of the conference calling system with a user interface;

monitoring the conference call with a timer to determine at least one of a first call duration, a second call duration, and a third call duration,

the first call duration including a call duration of at least one attendee of the conference call,

the second call duration including a total call duration of all of the attendees of the conference call combined, and

the third call duration including a call duration for the conference call;

comparing the time duration threshold to at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration with a processor;

performing at least one of validation actions and alert actions with the processor if at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration exceeds the time duration threshold, the validation actions and alert actions including at least one of;

permitting an administrator of the conference calling system to enter the conference call,

terminating the conference call,

voiding at least one passcode to the conference call, and

sending an alert to at least one of the administrator of the conference calling system, a moderator of the conference call, participants of the conference call, and at least one security personnel, the alert indicating that the time duration threshold has been exceeded; and

permitting the conference call to continue if the time duration threshold exceeds the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration, when said comparing of the time duration threshold includes comparing the time duration threshold to the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the at least one time duration threshold includes a first call duration threshold, a second call duration threshold, and a third call duration threshold,

the first call duration threshold including a maximum allowed call duration for the at least one attendee of the conference call,

the second call duration threshold including a maximum allowed total call duration for all of the attendees of the conference call combined, and

the third call duration threshold including a maximum allowed call duration for the conference call.

11. The method according to claim 10, further including:

receiving a passcode to enter the conference call from an attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold;

obtaining first information from a person assigned the passcode;

obtaining second information from the attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold; and

determining whether the first information matches the second information.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the performing of the at least one of validation actions and alert actions includes, sending an alert to the at least one attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold if the first information matches the second information, the alert indicating that the time duration threshold has been exceeded.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first information includes at least one of an employee number, an identification badge number, a telephone number, a home address, an e-mail address, an office address, and at least one answer to at least one security question entered by the person assigned the passcode.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the performing of the at least one of validation actions and alert actions includes generating and storing a report, where the report includes at least one of the time duration threshold, the first call duration, the second call duration, the third call duration, at least one passcode to the conference call, the validation actions performed, and the alert actions performed.

15. A system for detecting fraudulent use in a conference calling system, the system including:

a user interface for receiving at least one time duration threshold for a conference call of the conference calling system;

a database for storing the at least one time duration threshold;

a timer for monitoring the conference call to determine a first call duration, a second call duration, and a third call duration,

the first call duration including a call duration of at least one attendee of the conference call,

the second call duration including a total call duration of all of the attendees of the conference call combined, and

the third call duration including a call duration for the conference call;

a processor operatively connected to the database and the timer,

the processor compares the time duration threshold to at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration, and

the processor performs actions if at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration exceeds the time duration threshold; and

an alert module in the processor, the alert module sends an alert to an administrator of the conference calling system, a moderator of the conference call, participants of the conference call, and at least one security personnel, the alert indicating that the time duration threshold has been exceeded.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the at least one time duration threshold includes a first call duration threshold, a second call duration threshold, and a third call duration threshold,

the first call duration threshold including a maximum allowed call duration for the at least one attendee of the conference call,

the second call duration threshold including a maximum allowed total call duration for all of the attendees of the conference call combined, and

the third call duration threshold including a maximum allowed call duration for the conference call.

17. The system according to claim 16, further including a receiver for receiving a passcode to enter the conference call from an attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold, wherein the user interface obtains first information from a person assigned the passcode, wherein the receiver receives second information from the attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold, and wherein the processor determines whether the first information matches the second information.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the processor includes an alert module, the alert module sends an alert to the at least one attendee exceeding the first call duration threshold if the first information matches the second information, the alert indicating that the time duration threshold has been exceeded.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the first information includes at least one of an employee number, an identification badge number, a home telephone number, a home address, a mobile telephone number, an e-mail address, an office telephone number, an office address, and an answer to a security question entered by the person assigned the passcode.

20. The system according to claim 15, wherein the processor permits an administrator of the conference calling system to enter the conference call, terminates the conference call, and voids at least one passcode to the conference call.

21. The system according to claim 15, further including a report generating module for generating and storing a report, where the report includes the time duration threshold, the first call duration, the second call duration, the third call duration, at least one passcode to the conference call, and the actions performed.

22. A computer program product for detecting fraudulent use in a conference calling system, the computer program product including:

a computer readable storage medium;

first program instructions to receive at least one time duration threshold for a conference call of the conference calling system;

second program instructions to monitor the conference call to determine at least one of a first call duration, a second call duration, and a third call duration,

the first call duration including a call duration of at least one attendee of the conference call,

the second call duration including a total call duration of all of the attendees of the conference call combined, and

the third call duration including a call duration for the conference call;

third program instructions to compare the time duration threshold to at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration;

fourth program instructions to perform actions with the processor if at least one of the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration exceeds the time duration threshold, and

fifth program instructions to permit the conference call to continue if the time duration threshold exceeds the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration, when said comparing of the time duration threshold includes comparing the time duration threshold to the first call duration, the second call duration, and the third call duration,

wherein the first program instructions, the second program instructions, the third program instructions, the fourth program instructions, and the fifth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium.