Providing temporary contact information

• US 9,946,850 B1
• Filed: 07/27/2017
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bryson, Donald L., Kline, Eric V., Rakshit, Sarbajit K.
• Primary Examiner(s): REVAK, CHRISTOPHER A
• Application Number:
  US15/661,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20180096115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 264 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic

Abstract

Contact information associated with a user is identified. Temporary contact information, exclusive of the contact information, is generated and associated with the user. Termination controls, configured to prevent use of the temporary contact information after the occurrence of an event, are generated and associated with the temporary contact information.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for preventing misuse of contact information, the method comprising:

identifying a first contact information associated with a first user, the first contact information comprising a phone number;

generating, on a server, encrypted temporary contact information for the first user, the temporary contact information excluding the first contact information, the encrypted temporary contact information configured to be valid during a date and time range and to cause communication, routed through the server, using the first contact information when received from a second user;

generating termination controls, based on termination parameters provided by the first user via an interactive user interface, the termination controls associated with the encrypted temporary contact information, the termination controls configured to prevent use of the encrypted temporary identification after occurrence of an event, the event comprising a determination that the first user is no longer communicating with the second user, and wherein the termination controls comprise the ability to remotely, via the server, erase the encrypted temporary contact information from the second user'"'"'s device and an executable script in the metadata of the encrypted temporary contact information, the executable script configured to erase the encrypted temporary contact information in response to occurrence of the event;

receiving, from the first user, a designation of the second user to receive the encrypted temporary contact information;

providing, to the second user, the encrypted temporary contact information;

receiving, from the second user, a first communication, at the server, using the encrypted temporary contact information, the first communication comprising a text message;

querying a database of encrypted temporary contact information to identify the associated first contact information;

communicating, via the server, the first communication to the first user using the first contact information;

determining, based on a function of time where the first user has received a communication from the second user and has not responded, that the first user is not communicating to the second user;

terminating, in response to occurrence of the event, the encrypted temporary contact information for the first user, via the termination controls; and

displaying, to the first user, a termination confirmation.