Improper financial activity detection tool

• US 9,947,044 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2014
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Bell, Kolt, Barnhardt, David, Bearley, Amijo, Dominguez, Robert J, Kerman, David, Van Vliet, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Chia-Yi
• Application Number:
  US14/148,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20150193865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,562 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 45
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

An illustrative method for identifying information associated with a ring of individuals performing improper financial activities may include combining a list of user identifiers with one or more attributes tables corresponding to the financial transactions. A computer device may analyze a first list of identifiers in relation to an attribute table, where the identifiers may be associated with one or more suspected improper financial activities and the attribute table may include attributes of one or more financial transactions performed over a specified duration. The computer device may then link the first list of identifiers with one or more attributes included in the attribute table to determine a second list of identifiers and the process may be repeated until a stopping condition has been reached. After the stopping condition has been met, the computer device may communicate a report to a user.

Claims

1. A method to electronically identify a plurality of individuals performing improper financial activity, the method comprising:

monitoring, by a transaction monitoring system at a first network location, a plurality of financial transactions for signs of improper financial activity, wherein the plurality of financial transactions are electronic transactions received via a plurality of remote computing devices;

generating, by the transaction monitoring system, a first list of identifiers, the first list of identifiers comprising one or more user identifiers identifying a particular individual suspected of being associated with improper financial activity performed by the plurality of individuals;

presenting, via a user interface device, a user interface screen to facilitate identification of a ring of individuals performing improper financial activities, the user interface screen for selecting a list of financial transaction attributes to be included in one or more attribute tables wherein the list of financial transaction attributes includes at least a sentinel cookie attribute and a device fingerprint attribute;

combining, by an analysis tool implemented on a computing device at a second network location, a first list of identifiers with a first attribute table, wherein the first list of identifiers includes at least one identifier suspected of being associated with one or more improper financial activities and wherein the first attribute table corresponds to one or more attributes of financial transactions performed during a specified duration, the attributes including at least the sentinel cookie attribute and the device fingerprint attribute;

recursively linking until a stopping condition has been met, by the analysis tool, a digital file comprising the first list of identifiers with an attribute included in the first attribute table, wherein the stopping condition comprises a maximum number of links and wherein each link comprises a match between an identifier in the first list of identifiers with one or more attributes of the first attribute table;

generating, by the analysis tool, a composite table as a merged combination of the first list of identifiers and a portion of the first attribute table, wherein each row of the composite table includes a count parameter that corresponds to a number of times that a particular input party identifier and attribute combination were linked using first attribute table data for a specified time period;

repeating the recursively linking step and the generating the composite table step until the stopping condition has been met, wherein the composite table of a previous iteration is used as a second list of identifiers in a successive iteration;

generating, by the analysis tool, a first report when the stopping condition has been met, the stopping condition comprising one or both of a specified number of iterations and a maximum list size; and

communicating, by the analysis tool the first report to a user, the first report including at least a portion of the composite table including a plurality of rows each including an identifier from the first or the second list of identifiers linked with one or more attributes of the first attribute table.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a referral including the first list of identifiers, the referral sent in response to a suspected pattern of improper financial activity within a specified time period wherein at least one identifier is associated with a financial transaction within the specified time period.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein linking the first list of identifiers with information included in the first attribute table includes:

creating, by the analysis tool, a first composite table, wherein each row of the first composite table is associated with an individual identifier that is linked with the attribute.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein linking the first list of identifiers with information included in the first attribute table includes:

creating, by the analysis tool, a second composite table including one or more rows corresponding to different identifiers each linked to an attribute, and one or more rows corresponding to different attributes each linked to an identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

generating, by the analysis tool, a second list of identifiers corresponding to one or more identifiers that have been linked with attributes included in the attribute table; and

repeating the combining step, linking step, and the generating step using the second list of identifiers.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

determining, by the analysis tool, that a specified stopping condition has not been met;

and

repeating the combining step, the linking step and the generating step until the stopping condition has been met.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the stopping condition corresponds to at least one of a maximum number of iterations and a maximum table size.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

combining, by the analysis tool, the first list of identifiers with a second attribute table, wherein the first list of identifiers includes at least one identifier suspected of being associated with one or more improper financial activities and wherein the second attribute table is different than the first attribute table and corresponds to one or more attributes of financial transactions performed during a specified duration;

linking, by the analysis tool, the first list of identifiers with an attribute included in the second attribute table; and

communicating, by the analysis tool, a second report to a user, the report including at least a portion of the list of identifiers linked with one or more attributes of the second attribute table.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising:

generating, by the analysis tool, a third list of identifiers corresponding to one or more identifiers that have been linked with attributes included in the second attribute table; and

repeating the combining step, linking step, and the generating step using the third list of identifiers.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising:

repeating the combining step, linking step, and the generating step using the third list of identifiers with the attributes of the first attribute table and the attributes of the second attribute table.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising limiting use of a particular attribute of the first attribute table based on a threshold, wherein the threshold corresponds to at least one of inclusion on an exclusion list and a link count associated with the particular attribute.

12. A computer system for identifying a plurality of individuals suspected of performing improper financial activity, the computer system comprising:

a processor;

a memory device communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computer system to;

monitor, by a transaction monitoring system, a plurality of financial transactions for signs of improper financial activity;

generate, by the transaction monitoring system, a first list of identifiers, the first list of identifiers comprising one or more user identifiers suspected of being associated with improper financial activity performed by the plurality of individuals;

present, via a user interface device, a user interface screen to facilitate identification of a ring of individuals performing improper financial activities, the user interface screen for selecting a list of financial transaction attributes to be included in one or more attribute tables wherein the list of financial transaction attributes includes at least a sentinel cookie attribute and a device fingerprint attribute;

receive a first list of identifiers via a communication link, the first list of identifiers corresponding to a suspected pattern of improper financial activity occurring during a specified time period and wherein at least one identifier is associated with a financial transaction that occurred within the specified time period;

recursively link at least one identifier in the first list of identifiers to an attribute in a first attribute table, wherein the first attribute table corresponds to one or more attributes of financial transactions performed during a specified duration, wherein the at least one identifier is matched to the least one attribute in the first attribute table and wherein a stopping condition comprises a maximum number of links and wherein each link comprises a match between an identifier in the first list of identifiers with one or more attributes of the first attribute table;

generate a composite table as a merged combination of the first list of identifiers and a portion of the first attribute table, wherein each row of the composite table includes a count parameter that corresponds to a number of times that a particular input party identifier and attribute combination were linked using first attribute table data for a specified time period;

repeat the recursively link step and the generate the composite table step until the stopping condition has been met, wherein the composite table of a previous iteration is used as a second list of identifiers in a successive iteration;

generate a first report when the stopping condition has been met, the stopping condition comprising one or both of a specified number of iterations being performed or a maximum list size being reached; and

communicate, via a communication link, the first report to a user, the first report including a subset of the first or second list of identifiers linked with one or more attributes of the first attribute table forming a composite table, wherein each row of the composite table corresponds to an individual identifier and its linked attribute.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory is further configured to store instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the computer system to:

generate a second list of identifiers corresponding to one or more identifiers that have been linked with attributes included in the attribute table; and

repeating linking identifiers to the attributes of the attribute table and generating a list of identifiers corresponding to one or more identifiers linked in the attribute table until a stopping condition has been met.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the memory is further configured to store instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the computer system to:

determine whether a specified end condition has been met;

if not, linking identifiers to the attributes in the attribute table until the specified end condition has been met; and

if so, communicate, by the computer system, generate the report including results of the combining, linking, and generating steps.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the end condition corresponds to at least one of a maximum number of iterations and a maximum table size.

16. The system of claim 12, comprising a reporting computer communicatively coupled to the computer system via the communication link, the reporting computer including a user interface including at least one screen for presenting the first report to the user.

17. The system of claim 12, comprising a user interface device communicatively coupled to the computer system via the communication link, the user interface device including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the user interface device to:

identify one or more financial transactions corresponding to potential improper financial activity; and

determine one or more user identifiers associated one or more suspect financial transactions, the user identifiers included on the first list of identifiers.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory is further configured to store instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the computer system to:

link at least one identifier in the first list of identifiers to an attribute in a second attribute table different from the first attribute table, wherein the second attribute table corresponds to one or more attributes of financial transactions performed during a specified duration; and

communicate, via a communication link, a second report to a user, the report including at least a portion of the first list of identifiers linked with one or more attributes of the second attribute table.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory is further configured to store instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the computer system to:

generate a third list of identifiers corresponding to one or more identifiers that have been linked with attributes included in the second attribute table; and

repeating linking identifiers to the attributes of the attribute table and generating a list of identifiers corresponding to one or more identifiers linked with attributes in the second attribute table until a stopping condition has been met.