Unauthorized call activity detection and prevention systems and methods for a Voice over Internet Protocol environment

• US 7,916,845 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2006
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Securus Technologies Incorporated (Securus Special Investments LLC)
• Original Assignee: Securus Technologies Incorporated (Securus Special Investments LLC)
• Inventors: Rae, Robert L., Hogg, John S. Jr., Polozola, Michelle L.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEANE JR, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US11/403,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20070242658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,811 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.02, 379/188, 455/411
• US Class Current: 379/201.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/16 with lock-out or secrecy provision in party-line systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

Embodiments connect a call in which at least one party is a VoIP call party and monitoring resulting VoIP signals for unauthorized call activity, such as three-way call activity. The monitoring may include monitoring the call for suspend and/or resume events to detect the unauthorized call activity, the suspend and resume events may be generated by a telephone system and passed into a VoIP system associated with the VoIP call party. The monitoring may be carried out by an agent disposed between a VoIP gateway and the VoIP call party or by the VoIP gateway itself.

Claims

1. A method for providing call processing in a controlled-environment facility, comprising:

receiving a request to place a call from a terminal accessed by a calling party in the controlled-environment facility;

connecting the call to a called party outside the controlled-environment facility via a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway between the terminal and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or between the terminal and a wide area network (WAN); and

detecting three-way call activity in the call by monitoring VoIP signals transmitted between the VoIP gateway and the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the VoIP signals comprises detecting voice activation detection (VAD) idle noise in the VoIP signals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the VoIP signals are transmitted using a real-time transport protocol.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said monitoring further comprises determining whether voice activation detection (VAD) idle noise persists for a predetermined time frame.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said monitoring comprises detecting packet loss for a predetermined time to determine presence of the three-way call activity.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing an operation responsive to detecting the three-way call.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said operation performed comprises at least one of flagging the call for investigation, intervening to warn the called party and the calling party to not participate in the three-way call activity, disconnecting the call, monitoring the call for investigative purposes, and alerting authorities.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining likelihood that the calling party or the called party will initiate the three-way call activity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said determining of the likelihood is based on at least one of (i) past attempts by at least one of the called party or the calling party to carry out a three-way call, (ii) past attempts by at least one of said calling party or the called party to conduct a fraudulent activity, (iii) call payment status of the called party or the calling party, (iv) call billing activity of the called party or the calling party, (v) call payment history of the called party or the calling party, (vi) calling activity of the called party or the calling party, (vii) calling history of the calling party, and (viii) the location of the called party or the calling party.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising increasing a level of said monitoring in response to determining that the calling party or the called party is likely to initiate the three-way call activity.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising modifying an operation to be taken in response to detecting the three-way call based on the likelihood that the called party or the calling party will initiate the three-way call.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing said three-way call activity to continue responsive to determining that the called party is authorized to conduct a three-way call.

13. A system for providing call processing in a controlled-environment facility, comprising:

a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway configured to receive a request to place a call from a terminal in the controlled-environment facility, the VoIP gateway connecting the call to a called party outside the controlled-environment facility via a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway between the terminal and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or between the terminal and a wide area network (WAN); and

an agent between the VoIP gateway and the terminal, the agent configured to detect three-way call activity by monitoring VoIP signals.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the agent is configured to detect voice activation detection (VAD) idle noise to determine the three-way call activity.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the VoIP signals are communicated in a real-time transport protocol.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the agent is configured to detect packet loss for a predetermined time to determine presence of the three-way call activity.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein said agent is configured to determine a three-way call attempt based on voice activation detection (VAD) idle noise persisting for a predetermined time frame.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein said gateway disallows initiation of the three-way call by the calling party or the called party during the VoIP call.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein said agent is configured to monitor said call to detect a sound of interest.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said sound of interest is the voice of a third party.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein said sound of interest is at least one of a gunshot, a scream, outdoor sounds, dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF), Recording tones, alarms and sirens.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein said agent is configured to monitor said call to collect data related to at least one of speech cadence, frequency, amplitude, phonetics, tonal combinations, the agent further configured to determine the number of voices taking part in said call based on the data collected.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein said agent is configured to perform an operation responsive to detecting the three-way call.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein the operation performed by said agent comprises taking at least one of flagging the call for investigation, intervening to warn the called party and the calling party to not participate in the three-way call activity, disconnecting the call, monitoring the call for investigative purposes, and alerting authorities.

25. The system of claim 13, wherein said agent is also configured to determine likelihood that the called party or the calling party will initiate the three-way call activity.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein said agent determines the likelihood based on at least one of (i) past attempts by at least one of the called party or the calling party to carry out the three-way call, (ii) past attempts by at least one of said called party or the calling party to conduct a fraudulent activity, (iii) call payment status of the called party or the calling party, (iv) call billing activity of the called party or the calling party, (v) call payment history of the called party or the calling party, (vi) calling activity of the called party or the calling party, (vii) calling history of the called party or the calling party, and (viii) the location of the called party of the calling party.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein said agent is configured to increase a level of monitoring for the call responsive to determining that the calling party or the called party is likely to initiate the three-way call.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein said agent is configured to modify an operation to be taken in response to detecting the three-way call based on the likelihood that the called party or the calling party will initiate the three-way call.

29. The system of claim 13, wherein said agent is configured to allow the tree-way call activity to continue responsive to determining that the called party is authorized to conduct a three-way call.

30. A method for providing call processing in a controlled-environment facility, comprising:

receiving a request to place a call from a terminal in the controlled-environment facility;

connecting the call to a called party outside the controlled-environment facility via a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway between the terminal and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or between the terminal and a wide area network (WAN);

receiving an out-of-band signal associated with the call from the PSTN; and

detecting a three-way call activity in the call by analyzing the received out-of-band signal at the VoIP gateway.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein detecting the three-way call activity comprises detecting a suspend signal in the out-of-band signal indicating that the PSTN will suspend sending information associated with the call to the VoIP gateway.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising translating the out-of-band signal from the PSTN into an out-of-band signal of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

33. The method of claim 30, wherein detecting the three-way call activity further comprises detecting a resume signal in the out-of-band signal indicating that the PSTN will resume sending information associating with the call to the VoIP gateway.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the out-of-band signal is a signaling system 7 (SS7) signal.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein detecting the three-way call activity further comprises detecting a three-way calling invitation signal from the PSTN.

36. A system for providing call processing in a controlled-environment facility, comprising:

a line interface for coupling to a plurality of terminals in the controlled-environment facility; and

a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway coupled between the line interface and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or between the line interface and a wide area network (WAN), the VoIP gateway configured to;

receive a request to place a call from one of the plurality of terminals in the controlled-environment facility;

connect the call to a called party outside the controlled-environment facility via the PSTN;

receive an out-of-band signal associated with the call from the PSTN; and

detect a three-way call activity in the call by analyzing the received out-of-band signal at the VoIP gateway.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the VoIP gateway is configured to detect the three-way call activity by detecting a suspend signal in the out-of-band signal indicating that the PSTN will suspend sending information associated with the call to the VoIP gateway.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the VoIP gateway is further configured to translate the out-of-band signal from the PSTN into an out-of-band signal of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

39. The system of claim 36, wherein the VoIP gateway is further configured to detect the three-way call activity by detecting a resume signal in the out-of-band signal indicating that the PSTN will resume sending information associating with the call to the VoIP gateway.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein the out-of-band signal is a signaling system 7 (SS7) signal.

41. The system of claim 36, wherein the VoIP gateway is further configured to detect the three-way call activity by detecting a three-way calling invitation signal from the PSTN.