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Spam control based on sender account characteristics

  • US 7,548,956 B1
  • Filed: 12/30/2003
  • Issued: 06/16/2009
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2003
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of controlling the usage of a communications account, the method comprising:

  • accessing communications account characteristics that indicate the communications account is being operated by a spammer and that indicate the communications account is not being operated by a spammer, wherein accessing the communications account characteristics includes accessing information indicative of characteristics which include one or more of the following;

    a length of time the communications account has been maintained,access by the communications account of services not relating to email,access or status of parental controls for the communications account,a difference in proportion or number between outgoing and incoming communications, andwhether an intended recipient of a communication by the communications account has previously sent a communication to the communications account;

    determining an aggregate measure that indicates a likelihood that the communications account is being used by a spammer based on the characteristics that indicate the communications account is being operated by a spammer and characteristics that indicate the communications account is not being operated by a spammer, wherein the characteristics that indicate the communications account is being operated by a spammer and the characteristics that indicate the communications account is not being operated by a spammer offset each other when used to determine the aggregate measure;

    determining whether the communications account is being operated by a spammer based on comparing the aggregate measure to at least one threshold measure to determine whether the aggregate measure indicates that the communications account is being operated by a spammer; and

    preventing outgoing communications from leaving the communications account in response to the determination that the communications account is being operated by a spammer based on the aggregate measure, wherein the communications account is located at a client terminal or is located at a communications server associated with the client terminal.

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