Management of toll-free number misuse and fraud detection

• US 9,930,189 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2015
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Somos, Inc. (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Somos, Inc. (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chauhan, Sanjeev
• Primary Examiner(s): ADDY, THJUAN KNOWLIN
• Application Number:
  US14/984,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20160127562A1
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: 37911414, 37911204, 37911424, 37920112, 37911201, 37911202, 379111, 37911206, 370352
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24573 using data annotations, e.g. user-defined metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/125 based on throughput or bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/08 Metering calls to called party , i.e. B-party charged for the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/09 Third party charged communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/47 Fraud detection or prevention means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/72 by the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/755 Account identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8061 Selecting least cost route depending on origin or type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8214 Data or packet based
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/555 Statistics, e.g. about subscribers but not being call statistics
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2263 Network management
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/367 Traffic or load control
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42178 : by downloading data to substation equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42306 : Number translation services, e.g. premium-rate, freephone or vanity number services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42357 : where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 : Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0087 : Network testing or monitoring arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0091 : Congestion or overload control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 : Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing a rating system that allow for customers to create a database of toll-free numbers that are abused by malicious consumers which may be cloud-based and allow for service providers to dip prior to completing or accepting calls.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may occur regarding the usage of a toll-free telecommunications number;

storing a rule regarding an action to take upon receipt of a reported abuse event, wherein the rule specifies a routing rule defining how a call that is associated with the abuse event is to be routed over a toll-free telecommunications system without blocking the call;

receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free telecommunications number;

identifying at least one abuse event within the stored taxonomy and routing rule that is related to content of the abuse report; and

automatically routing a call that is the subject of the abuse report according to the routing rule associated with the abuse event to complete the call.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse derives from a call center.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse derives from a telecommunications carrier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse derives from a business entity.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the routing rule is integrated within a call routing template.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the call routing template is shared with an entity other than that generating the report of abuse.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the routing of the call is manual instead of automatic.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a responsible organization.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a time of the abuse event.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to an originating number.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a geographic location of an originating number.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a geographic location of a terminating number.

13. A method comprising:

receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free telecommunications number;

identifying an absence of an abuse event definition within a stored taxonomy that is related to the type of abuse reported;

storing a new definition of the abuse event within the taxonomy;

creating a routing rule defining how a call that is associated with the abuse event is to be routed over a toll-free telecommunications system and without blocking the call.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the routing rule specifies an alternate terminating number to which to route an incoming call.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein another routing rule prevents further call routing over a corresponding toll-free telecommunications number.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the stored definition is further associated with third party industry data.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a call matching the abuse event within the stored taxonomy and routing rule that is related to content of the report of abuse; and

automatically routing the call according to the routing rule associated with the abuse event to complete the call.

17. A method comprising:

storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may occur regarding the usage of a toll-free telecommunications number;

associating each of the abuse events in the taxonomy with a corresponding toll-free telecommunications number rating action;

receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free telecommunications number;

identifying at least one abuse event within the stored taxonomy and corresponding rating action that is related to content of the abuse report;

automatically computing a rating for the toll-free telecommunications number based on the rating action; and

reporting the rating to an entity interested in obtaining a toll-free communications number.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the rating is associated with a call routing rule.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the call routing rule is shared with a service provider.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the rating is used as metadata to tag the toll-free telecommunications number.

22. The method of claim 17, when the rating is a nonbinary rating.