RESTRICTING ACCESS TO COMPROMISED ACCOUNT INFORMATION

• US 20080319889A1
• Filed: 04/30/2008
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hammad, Ayman
• Granted Patent: US 7,739,169 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/403 Solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A notification service protects different user accounts from being exposed to fraudulent activity when one of the accounts is compromised. The notification service instructs an issuer of the compromised account to automatically close, freeze or place the other associated accounts on a watch list to prevent potential exposure to the other accounts due to a security breach associated with the compromised account. The card holder may receive notification of the compromised account from the notification service or the issuer via a mobile device. The mobile device may directly contact other issuers with one request to restrict access to any accounts associated with the compromised account. In the event that the compromised account is loaded on the mobile device, the account is cancelled and a new account is loaded to the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving notification of a compromised account;

restricting access to the compromised account;

identifying another account associated with the compromised account, wherein the other account is identified based on information that is shared between the other account and the compromised account, the other account not being pre-registered with an entity that identifies the other account; and

restricting access to the other account.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

notifying a network element of the compromised account.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the network element is associated with a card holder.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the network element is a mobile device.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the compromised account is stored on the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein restricting access to the compromised account comprises canceling the compromised account stored on the mobile device.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

issuing a new account to replace the canceled account; and

transmitting the new account to the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising registering the new account.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the network element is associated with an issuer.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the network element is associated with a merchant.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

monitoring a network to access the information that is shared between the other account and the compromised account.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein restricting access comprises closing at least one of the compromised account and the other account.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein restricting access comprises adding at least one of the compromised account and the other account to a watch list.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the compromised account and the other account are associated with a card holder.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

identifying the card holder of the compromised account, wherein access is restricted to at least one of the compromised account and the other account in response to input received from the card holder.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the compromised account and the other account are associated with a merchant.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the account as being compromised when the account has been detected as being exposed to potentially fraudulent activity.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

receiving a notification that the account has been detected as being exposed to the potentially fraudulent activity.

19. A server computer configured to perform the method of claim 1.

20. A mobile computing device comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive notification of a compromised account;

receive notification of another account associated with the compromised account, wherein the other account is associated with the compromised account based on information that is shared with the compromised account, the other account not being pre-registered with an entity that identifies the other account; and

transmit a response to the received notifications, wherein the response causes access to at least one of the compromised account or the other account to be restricted.

21. The mobile computing device of claim 20 wherein at least one notification is received from at least one of an issuer, a merchant, an acquirer and a notification service.

22. The mobile computing device of claim 20 further comprising a computer readable medium, wherein the response indicates that at least one of the compromised account and the other account is stored on the computer readable medium.

23. The mobile computing device of claim 22 wherein the processor is further configured to receive a notification to cancel at least one of the compromised account and the other account stored on the computer readable medium.

24. The mobile computing device of claim 23 wherein the processor is further configured to receive new account information to replace the at least one canceled account.

25. The mobile computing device of claim 20 wherein the response to at least one notification is transmitted to an issuer associated with at least one of the compromised account and the other account.

26. The mobile computing device of claim 20 wherein the notification of the compromised account is received in response to the compromised account being detected as being exposed to potentially fraudulent activity.

27. A computer readable medium comprising:

code for receiving notification of a compromised account;

code for restricting access to the compromised account;

code for identifying another account associated with the compromised account, wherein the other account is identified based on information that is shared between the other account and the compromised account, the other account not being pre-registered with an entity that identifies the other account; and

code for restricting access to the other account.

28. A server comprising the computer readable medium of claim 27.

29. A method comprising:

receiving an indication that an account associated with a virtual card associated with a mobile computing device is compromised; and

using the mobile computing device to contact issuers of other virtual cards to notify the issuers that accounts associated with the other virtual cards could be potentially compromised.

30. A mobile computing device comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable medium,

the computer readable medium comprising;

code for receiving an indication that an account associated with a virtual card associated with a mobile computing device is compromised, and

code for contacting issuers of other virtual cards to notify the issuers that accounts associated with the other virtual cards could be potentially compromised.