System, method, and computer-readable medium for removing credit card numbers from both fixed and variable length transaction records

• US 9,305,042 B1
• Filed: 06/14/2007
• Issued: 04/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: West Corporation
• Original Assignee: West Corporation
• Inventors: Archbold, David, Frisbie, James V., Westbrook, Scott D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Shiow-Jy
• Application Number:
  US11/762,859
• Time in Patent Office: 3,218 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104, 705/51, 705 75- 76
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/215 Improving data quality; Data cleansing, e.g. de-duplication, removing invalid entries or correcting typographical errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2255 Hash tables
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9014 hash tables
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium for removing credit card numbers from a financial transaction record is provided. A temporary record containing only numeric characters is generated by parsing non-numeric characters from the financial transaction record. Numeric strings are then parsed from the temporary record and evaluated to determine if the parsed numeric strings potentially comprise a credit card number. Numeric strings that are evaluated as potentially comprising credit card numbers may then be further evaluated to determine if the numeric strings comprise valid credit card numbers. The original financial transaction record may then be searched for numeric strings evaluated as valid credit card numbers. Any string of consecutive characters that match a validated credit card number may then be replaced with white space characters or other innocuous characters in the transaction record.

Claims

1. A method for processing, by a processor, transaction records, comprising:

initializing a first record index variable representing a numeric value to be zero;

reading a first transaction record comprising a plurality of characters, including a credit card number, wherein the first transaction record is identified via the first record index variable, and wherein one or more of the plurality of characters comprises alphabetic and numeric characters;

generating a second record comprising only the numeric characters by parsing the alphabetic characters from the first transaction record;

initializing a character index variable to zero;

sequentially parsing N consecutive numeric characters from the second record with each sequentially parsing step offset by one numeric character from a previous parsing step such that each possible sequence of N consecutive numeric characters are parsed from the second record until an end-of-line character is identified in the second record;

evaluating each of a plurality of sequences of N consecutive numeric characters to determine whether the respective sequence comprises a valid credit card number by evaluating each of the plurality of sequences of N consecutive numeric characters with a LUHN Mod 10 calculation;

when any one of the sequences of N consecutive numeric characters does not pass the LUHN Mod 10 evaluation, then determining that particular sequence of N consecutive numeric characters does not comprise a valid credit card number;

responsive to identifying the N consecutive numeric characters do not comprise a valid credit card number N, incrementing the character index variable;

generating a temporary record containing only numeric characters by parsing non-numeric characters from the first transaction record, wherein the temporary record comprises at least a numeric credit card number and at least one numeric character set associated with the credit card number that is different from the credit card number;

searching the first transaction record for any sequence evaluated as the valid credit card number;

determining whether the first record index variable that specifies a length of character strings is greater than or equal to a numeric string length being evaluated, and when the first record index variable is determined to be not equal or greater than the numeric string length being evaluated, then the first record index variable is incremented, and a determination is made whether any additional records other than the first transaction record are available for evaluation;

generating a scrubbed transaction record from the first transaction record based on the sequence evaluated as the valid credit card number, wherein the scrubbed transaction record comprises each of plurality of characters with the credit card number being scrubbed;

responsive to searching, determining a first sequence evaluated as a valid credit card number is included in the first transaction record;

incrementing the character index variable responsive to determining the valid credit card number and parsing the characters of the temporary record and writing the parsed characters to a string for additional evaluation of valid credit card numbers until all additional records have been evaluated; and

replacing each character of the first sequence in the first transaction record with a respective non-numeric character to generate the scrubbed transaction record.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein replacing each character comprises replacing each character with an * character.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to determining a first sequence of N consecutive numeric characters is valid according to the LUHN Mod 10 algorithm, evaluating the first sequence of N consecutive numeric characters to determine the first sequence comprises a valid credit card number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transaction record comprises either a fixed field record or a delimited record of variable length.

5. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for execution by a processing system, the computer-executable instructions for processing transaction records, the computer-readable medium comprising instructions for:

initializing a first record index variable representing a numeric value to be zero;

reading a first transaction record comprising a plurality of characters, including a credit card number, wherein the first transaction record is identified via the first record index variable, and wherein one or more of the plurality of characters comprises alphabetic and numeric characters;

generating a second record comprising only the numeric characters by parsing the alphabetic characters from the first record;

initializing a character index variable to zero;

sequentially parsing N consecutive numeric characters from the second record with each sequentially parsing step offset by one numeric character from a previous parsing step such that each possible sequence of N consecutive numeric characters are parsed from the second record until an end-of-line character is identified in the second record;

evaluating each of a plurality of sequences of N consecutive numeric characters to determine whether the respective sequence comprises a valid credit card number by evaluating each of the plurality of sequences of N consecutive numeric characters with a LUHN Mod 10 calculation

when any one of the sequences of N consecutive numeric characters does not pass the LUHN Mod 10 evaluation, then determining that particular sequence of N consecutive numeric characters does not comprise a valid credit card number;

responsive to identifying the N consecutive numeric characters do not comprise a valid credit card number N, incrementing the character index variable;

generating a temporary record containing only numeric characters by parsing non-numeric characters from the first transaction record, wherein the temporary record comprises at least a numeric credit card number and at least one numeric character set associated with the credit card number that is different from the credit card number;

generating a scrubbed transaction record from the first transaction record based on the sequence evaluated as the valid credit card number, wherein the scrubbed transaction record comprises each of plurality of characters with the credit card number being scrubbed;

searching the first transaction record for any sequence evaluated as a valid credit card number;

determining whether the first record index variable that specifies a length of character strings is greater than or equal to a numeric string length being evaluated, and when the first record index variable is determined to be not equal or greater than the numeric string length being evaluated, then the first record index variable is incremented and a determination is made whether any additional records other than the first transaction record are available;

responsive to searching, determining a first sequence evaluated as a valid credit card number is included in the first transaction record;

incrementing the character index variable responsive to determining the valid credit card number and parsing the characters of the temporary record and writing the parsed characters to a string for additional evaluation of valid credit card numbers until all additional records have been evaluated; and

replacing each character of the first sequence in the first transaction record with a respective non-numeric character to generate the scrubbed transaction record.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the instructions for replacing each character comprise instructions for replacing each character with an * character.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, further comprising, responsive to a determining a first sequence of N consecutive numeric characters is valid according to the LUHN Mod 10 algorithm, instructions for evaluating the first sequence of N consecutive numeric characters to determine the first sequence comprises a valid credit card number.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the first transaction record comprises either a fixed field record or a delimited record of variable length.

9. A system for processing transaction records, comprising:

a processing unit; and

a memory communicatively coupled with the processing unit and storing computer-executable instructions for execution by the processing unit, the computer-executable instructions specifying logic for

initializing a first record index variable representing a numeric value to be zero;

reading a first transaction record comprising a plurality of characters, including a credit card number, wherein the first transaction record is identified via the first record index variable, and wherein one or more of the plurality of characters comprises alphabetic and numeric characters,

generating a second record comprising only the numeric characters by parsing the alphabetic characters from the first record,

initializing a character index variable to zero,

sequentially parsing N consecutive numeric characters from the second record with each sequentially parsing step offset by one numeric character from a previous parsing step such that each possible sequence of N consecutive numeric characters are parsed from the second record until an end-of-line character is identified in the second record,

evaluating each of a plurality of sequences of N consecutive numeric characters to determine whether the respective sequence comprises a valid credit card number by evaluating each of the plurality of sequences of N consecutive numeric characters with a LUHN Mod 10 calculation,

when any one of the sequences of N consecutive numeric characters does not pass the LUHN Mod 10 evaluation, then determining that particular sequence of N consecutive numeric characters does not comprise a valid credit card number,

responsive to identifying the N consecutive numeric characters do not comprise a valid credit card number N, incrementing the character index variable, and

searching the first transaction record for any sequence evaluated as a valid credit card number,

determining whether the first record index variable that specifies a length of character strings is greater than or equal to a numeric string length being evaluated, and when the first record index variable is not equal or greater than the numeric string length being evaluated then the first record index variable is incremented and a determination is made whether any additional records other than the first transaction record are available,

generating a temporary record containing only numeric characters by parsing non-numeric characters from the first transaction record, wherein the temporary record comprises at least a numeric credit card number and at least one numeric character set associated with the credit card number that is different from the credit card number; and

generating a scrubbed transaction record from the first transaction record based on the sequence evaluated as the valid credit card number, wherein the scrubbed transaction record comprises each of plurality of characters with the credit card number being scrubbed,

responsive to searching, determining a first sequence evaluated as a valid credit card number is included in the first transaction record,

incrementing the character index variable responsive to determining the valid credit card number and parsing the characters of the temporary record and writing the parsed characters to a string for additional evaluation of valid credit card numbers until all additional records have been evaluated, and

replacing each character of the first sequence in the first transaction record with a respective non-numeric character to generate the scrubbed transaction record.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a storage device maintaining a database including the first transaction record.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing unit replaces each character with an * character.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing unit, responsive to determining a first sequence of N consecutive numeric characters is valid according to the LUHN Mod 10 algorithm, evaluates the first sequence of N consecutive numeric characters to determine the first sequence comprises a valid credit card number.