Special emergency call treatment based on the caller

• US 9,467,559 B2
• Filed: 01/20/2016
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Poremba, Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mohammed, Assad
• Application Number:
  US15/001,561
• Publication Number:
  US 20160142535A1
• Time in Patent Office: 265 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/14 Delay circuits; Timers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/04 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5116 for emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A blacklist of known harassing or non-legitimate emergency calls is maintained. An incoming emergency call is checked against emergency call records to determine if multiple emergency calls have been made recently, from the same general location, and destined to the same PSAP. Feedback is provided regarding the number of recent calls made and the possibility of a false positive, based on call history from known handsets in the area, including the possibility of a phone with a known MEID/ESN, when powered up, receiving the same 911-xxx-xxxx. Blacklisting may be approved or not based on the feedback. A telephone number or MIN may be placed on a “blacklist” with a ‘timer’. Subsequent calls to that phone number will be assigned a different SIP URI (a unique URI per destination determined prior to lookup on the blacklist) and be directed elsewhere. The call may be completed to an administrative line.

Claims

1. A method of blocking a source device of a probable nonlegitimate emergency call, comprising:

receiving an incoming emergency call from a physical wireless device associated with a given location;

initiating a request to a caller data server in communication with a blacklisted caller database to perform a lookup of other emergency call records recently made from a same general location as said given location, and all routed to a same public safety answering point (PSAP);

comparing said incoming emergency call to said emergency call records to determine if multiple emergency calls have been made recently from said physical wireless device;

receiving a feedback message regarding a probability of said received emergency call being a non-legitimate emergency call; and

adding, to said blacklisted caller database, an identifying telephone number or mobile identification number (MIN) of said physical wireless device when said probability is beyond an acceptable threshold amount.

2. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a different Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) per destination for a subsequent emergency call received from said physical wireless device, determined prior to said lookup in said blacklisted caller database.

3. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 2, wherein:

said subsequent emergency call is directed to a voice recording system.

4. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 3, wherein:

said voice recording system is an interactive voice recording system.

5. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 3, wherein:

said voice recording system is registered to multiple Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).

6. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 3, wherein:

said voice recording system indicates that a source of said emergency call has been identified as having previously made a non-legitimate emergency call.

7. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 1, further comprising:

lowering a priority of said received emergency call with respect to other incoming emergency calls when said probability of said incoming emergency call is above said acceptable threshold amount.

8. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 1, wherein:

said acceptable threshold amount is predetermined before said incoming emergency call is received.

9. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 1, wherein:

said received feedback message includes a number of recent emergency calls made from said physical wireless device.

10. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 1, further comprising:

blacklisting said telephone number or MIN associated with said received emergency call based on said received feedback message.

11. The method of blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 1, wherein:

said identifying telephone number or MIN is a 911-xxx-xxxx number.

12. Apparatus for blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call, comprising:

means for receiving an incoming emergency call from a physical wireless device associated with a given location;

means for initiating a request to a caller data server in communication with a blacklisted caller database to perform a lookup of other emergency call records recently made from a same general location as said given location, and all routed to a same public safety answering point (PSAP);

means for comparing said incoming emergency call to said emergency call records to determine if multiple emergency calls have been made recently from said physical wireless device;

means for receiving a feedback message regarding a probability of said received emergency call being a non-legitimate emergency call; and

means for adding, to said blacklisted caller database, an identifying telephone number or mobile identification number (MIN) of said physical wireless device when said probability is beyond an acceptable threshold amount.

13. The apparatus for blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 12, wherein:

means for assigning a different Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) per destination for a subsequent emergency call received from said physical wireless device, determined prior to said lookup in said blacklisted caller database.

14. The apparatus for blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 13, wherein:

means for indicating with a voice recording system that a source of said subsequent emergency call has been identified as having previously made a non-legitimate emergency call.

15. The apparatus for blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for lowering a priority of said received emergency call with respect to other incoming emergency calls when said probability of said incoming emergency call is above said acceptable threshold amount.

16. The apparatus for blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 12, wherein:

said acceptable threshold amount is predetermined before said incoming emergency call is received.

17. The apparatus for blocking a source device of a probable non-legitimate emergency call according to claim 12, wherein:

said received feedback message includes a number of recent emergency calls made from said physical wireless device.