System and method for secure distribution of information via email

• US 7,827,102 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2000
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Young, Kyle S., Saliba, Bassam A., Dent, Warren T., Waterston, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kyle; Charles R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chencinski; Siegfried E.
• Application Number:
  US09/751,436
• Publication Number:
  US 20010037315A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,595 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks

Abstract

A method facilitating secure financial transactions using email is presented comprising the steps of receiving bill data at a server implementing the method, and generating an email message to a recipient with information including at least a portion of the received bill data. The amount of bill data included in the email message is based, at least in part, on the email address of the recipient.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving bill data; and

generating an email message with information including at least a portion of the received bill data, wherein the amount of bill data included in the email message is based, at least in part, on an email address of a recipient, and wherein the recipient can be either a user or a non-user of a secure email system, wherein the non-user has not registered for a service of the secure email system.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

sending the email message to the recipient.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of generating comprises:

determining whether the recipient is a participant in a secure email network; and

constructing the email message to include at least an address of where the bill data may be confidentially viewed if the recipient is a non-user of the secure email system.

4. A method according to claim 3, further comprising:

constructing the email message to include substantially all of, the bill data along with financial Multipurpose Internet Multimedia Extensions (MIME) elements which enable the recipient to manage a financial account.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the MIME elements enable the recipient to pay all or part of the received bill.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein the MIME elements enable the recipient to establish and manage a financial account.

7. A method according to claim 3, wherein the step of determining comprises:

identifying a domain name from the email address; and

cross referencing the identified domain name against a list of secure domain names to determine whether the recipient belongs to a secure email system.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the sent email message including at least a portion of the bill data at the recipients email address; and

displaying at least a portion of the message in an inbox of an email client used by the recipient to access their email account.

9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising:

displaying the email message in the email client of the recipient, upon recipient access of the email message, wherein the email message includes financial Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) elements that enable the recipient to pay some or all of the received bill.

10. A method according to claim 8, further comprising:

paying some or all of the received bill by responding to the email.