Systems and methods of global identification

• US 9,990,631 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2015
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The 41st Parameter, Inc. (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: The 41st Parameter, Inc. (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Eisen, Ori
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M
• Application Number:
  US14/710,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20160019546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,120 Days
• Field of Search: 235383
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing

Abstract

The invention provides one or more consortia of networks that identify and share information about users and/or user devices interacting with the consortia. User devices may be identified, at least in part, by a delta of time parameter between a user device used and a reference time. Other parameters may be analyzed to identify a computer user and/or device and noteworthy transactions. The invention may be used for identity-based applications such as network security, the detection of fraudulent transactions, identity theft, ratings-based communities and law enforcement. User may be permitted to register user devices in order to control access for performing transactions.

Claims

1. A method of device identification, comprising:

receiving, at a memory, a first device identifier, the first device identifier being associated with an anchor value and the first device identifier being formulated based on first device information collected during a first transaction at a first time;

receiving, at the memory, a second device identifier different from the first device identifier, the second device identifier being associated with the same anchor value and formulated based on second device information collected during a second transaction at a second time;

comparing, with aid of a processor, the first device identifier and second device identifier, and formulating a device similarity percent based on said comparison, wherein the device similar percent indicates a likelihood that the second device identifier has evolved from the first device identifier;

determining, with aid of the processor, whether the device similarity percent exceeds a predetermined threshold;

accessing a global identifier of the computing device, the global identifier being associated with the first device identifier and used to track evolution of device identifiers of the computing device over time; and

associating, with aid of the processor, the global identifier with the second device identifier when the device similarity percent exceeds the predetermined threshold.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the anchor value includes personal information of a user of the computing device identified by the first device identifier.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the anchor is selected from one or more of the following:

email address, credit card number, name, social security number, phone number, IP address, class C address, user ID, ABA routing number, or account number.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising tracking, in the memory, a number of visits by a device having the global identifier.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said comparison includes comparing a first time difference parameter collected during the first transaction and a second time difference parameter collected during the second transaction.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first time difference parameter and the second time difference parameter is a difference in time between a clock of a device and a clock of an entity participating in the first transaction and the second transaction, respectively.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether a device associated with the global identifier has a reputation score that exceeds a predetermined threshold.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising authorizing a financial transaction between an entity and a user associated with the device associated with the second transaction when the reputation score exceeds to the predetermined threshold.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the reputation score of the device is stored at a repository accessible by the entity and one or more other entities.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said authorization is made by the entity after accessing the reputation score from the repository.

11. A method for establishing device reputation, comprising:

receiving, at a memory, a first device identifier, the first device identifier being formulated based on first device information collected during a first transaction at a first time, said first device identifier associated with a reputation score;

receiving, at the memory, a second device identifier different from the first device identifier, the second device identifier being formulated based on second device information collected during a second transaction at a second time;

comparing, with aid of a processor, the first device identifier and second device identifier, and determining whether the first device identifier and the second device identifier belong to the same device based on said comparison, wherein the second device identifier and the first device identifier belong to the same device in response to a determination that the second device identifier has evolved from the first device identifier;

varying or maintaining, with aid of the processor, the reputation score based on information associated with the second transaction, when the first device identifier and second device identifier are determined to belong to the same device; and

associating, with aid of the processor, the varied or maintained reputation score with the first device identifier and the second device identifier, when the first device identifier and second device identifier are determined to belong to the same device.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said comparison including comparing a first time difference parameter collected during the first transaction and a second time difference parameter collected during the second transaction.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising providing a registry having a memory storing the varied or maintained reputation score, wherein the registry is accessible by a plurality of online businesses.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising permitting, with aid of the processor, a financial transaction to occur between at least one of the plurality of online businesses and a device, when the device is identified to be the same device and when the varied or maintained reputation score exceeds a predetermined threshold.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising increasing the reputation score when the information associated with the second transaction does not yield an indicator of fraud.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium for device identification, comprising:

program instructions for receiving a device identifier associated with an anchor value and formulated based on device information collected during a transaction;

program instructions for receiving one or more previous device identifiers associated with the same anchor value and formulated based on device information collected during one or more previous transactions;

program instructions for comparing, with aid of a processor, the device identifier with one or more of the previous device identifiers, and formulating a device similarity percent based on said comparison, wherein the device similarity percent indicates a likelihood that the device identifier has evolved from the previous device identifiers;

program instructions for determining, with aid of the processor, whether the device similarity percent exceeds a predetermined threshold;

program instructions for accessing a global identifier of the computing device, the global identifier being associated with the previous device identifiers and used to track evolution of device identifiers of the computing device over time; and

program instructions for associating, with aid of the processor, when the device similarity percent exceeds the predetermined threshold, the global identifier with the device identifier that matches the global identifier associated with the previous device identifiers.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16 wherein said comparison occurs between the device identifier and a plurality of the previous device identifiers.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16 wherein said comparison occurs between the device identifier and each of the previous device identifiers.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16 wherein said comparison occurs between the device identifier and a conglomeration of the previous device identifiers.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 16 further comprising program instructions for storing three or more of the following:

the anchor value, the age of the anchor value, the device identifier, the global identifier, and the number of transactions by a device associated with the global identifier in a repository.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 20 further comprising program instructions for storing a reputation score associated with the global identifier in the repository, wherein information stored in the repository is accessible by a plurality of online businesses.