Fraud prevention in online systems

• US 9,135,467 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2013
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Offerpop Corporation
• Original Assignee: Offerpop Corporation
• Inventors: Mishra, Prakash
• Primary Examiner(s): Cervetti, David Garcia
• Application Number:
  US13/901,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20130318631A1
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: 726/28
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

An online fraud prevention system enables a user who sponsors an online activity to select a particular level of fraud prevention from a plurality of levels of fraud prevention. The system associates the particular level of fraud prevention with the online activity. The system identifies, from among a plurality of methods of fraud prevention, a particular fraud prevention method associated with the particular level of fraud prevention. The fraud prevention system applies the particular fraud prevention method to the online activity.

Claims

1. A method, performed by at least one computer processor executing computer program instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the method comprising:

(A) at a fraud prevention system, receiving, from a first user, first input selecting;

(1) an online activity and (2) a particular level of fraud prevention, from among a plurality of levels of fraud prevention;

(B) at the fraud prevention system, identifying, from among a plurality of methods of fraud prevention, a particular fraud prevention method associated with the particular level of fraud prevention; and

(C) at the fraud prevention system, applying the particular fraud prevention method to the online activity, comprising;

(C)(1) prompting a second user to grant permission to the fraud prevention system to access an online social networking profile of the second user; and

(C)(2) prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity if the second user does not grant permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein (C) further comprises, before (C)(2):

(C)(3) receiving second input from the second user;

(C)(4) determining whether the second input grants permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user; and

wherein (C)(2) comprises prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity if the second input is not determined to grant permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein (C)(2) comprises:

(C)(2)(a) determining that the second user has failed to provide input granting permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user; and

(C)(2)(b) prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity in response to determining that the second user has failed to provide input granting permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein (C) comprises:

(C)(1) receiving second input from a second user, wherein the second input grants permission to access an online social networking profile of the second user;

(C)(2) in response to receiving the second input, determining whether the online social networking profile of the second user contains fraudulent data;

(C)(3) allowing the second user to participate in the online activity if the online social networking profile of the second user is not determined to contain fraudulent data; and

(C)(4) prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity if the online social networking profile of the second user is determined to contain fraudulent data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein (C) comprises:

(C)(1) prompting a second user with a question;

(C)(2) receiving input from the second user representing an answer to the question; and

(C)(3) determining whether to permit the second user to participate in the online activity based on the answer to the question.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein (C)(3) comprises determining whether to permit the second user to participate in the online activity based on the answer to the question, without accessing an online social networking profile of the second user.

7. A system comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, wherein the computer program instructions are executable by at least one computer processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

(A) at a fraud prevention system, receiving, from a first user, first input selecting;

(1) an online activity and (2) a particular level of fraud prevention from among a plurality of levels of fraud prevention;

(B) at the fraud prevention system, identifying, from among a plurality of methods of fraud prevention, a particular fraud prevention method associated with the particular level of fraud prevention; and

(C) at the fraud prevention system, applying the particular fraud prevention method to the online activity, comprising;

(C)(1) prompting a second user to grant permission to the fraud prevention system to access an online social networking profile of the second user; and

(C)(2) prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity if the second user does not grant permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein (C) further comprises, before (C)(2):

(C)(3) receiving second input from the second user;

(C)(4) determining whether the second input grants permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user; and

wherein (C)(2) comprises prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity if the second input is not determined to grant permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein (C)(2) comprises:

(C)(2)(a) determining that the second user has failed to provide input granting permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user; and

(C)(2)(b) prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity in response to determining that the second user has failed to provide input granting permission to access the online social networking profile of the second user.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein (C) comprises:

(C)(1) receiving second input from a second user, wherein the second input grants permission to access an online social networking profile of the second user;

(C)(2) in response to receiving the second input, determining whether the online social networking profile of the second user contains fraudulent data;

(C)(3) allowing the second user to participate in the online activity if the online social networking profile of the second user is not determined to contain fraudulent data; and

(C)(4) prohibiting the second user from participating in the online activity if the online social networking profile of the second user is determined to contain fraudulent data.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein (C) comprises:

(C)(1) prompting a second user with a question;

(C)(2) receiving input from the second user representing an answer to the question; and

(C)(3) determining whether to permit the second user to participate in the online activity based on the answer to the question.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein (C)(3) comprises determining whether to permit the second user to participate in the online activity based on the answer to the question, without accessing an online social networking profile of the second user.