Exposing reporting cycle information

• US 9,558,519 B1
• Filed: 04/29/2011
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: Consumerinfo.com Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Burger, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Kazimi, Hani M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Preston, John
• Application Number:
  US13/098,330
• Time in Patent Office: 2,104 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/38
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• 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 50/265 Personal security, identity or safety

Abstract

A computing device is configured to acquire or access credit or reporting data associated with a consumer. The computing device then is configured to analyze the credit or reporting data to determine reporting cycles for accounts associated with the consumer. For example, the computing device may determine that credit information for a particular account may be updated at a regular interval (e.g., once a month on the 3rd) or some other more complex cycle. The computing device can subsequently used the determined reporting cycles to predict the next reporting dates for respective accounts and provide the information, for instance, to the consumer.

Claims

1. A method for providing alert information to a user relating to risk of identity theft of the user in connection with credit data of the user, the method comprising:

by a computer system comprising;

a plurality of lender computing devices each representing a lender that reports credit information about respective users on a periodic basis;

a credit data warehouse comprising millions of credit files relating to a corresponding millions of users;

a plurality of wireless computing devices, each device associated with a user who has at least one account with at least one of the lenders that report the credit information to the credit datda warehouse;

a central computing device comprising;

an acquisition module that

receives credit information from the plurality of lender computing devices, and for each of the plurality of users, determines one or more accounts associated with the user base on credit data associated with the user in the credit data warehouse;

an analysis module that, for each of a plurality of users,

determines reporting dates on which respective lenders with which the user has an account provide credit information to the credit data warehouse; and

determines estimated next reporting dates for respective accounts associated with the user, wherein the next reporting dates are determined based on the determined reporting dates associated with respective accounts;

a presentation module that, for each of the plurality of users,

generates an alert based on at least one of the estimated next reporting dates, wherein the alert comprises the estimated next reporting date,

 

an identifier of the corresponding account, and

 

a link to additional information relating to the estimated next reporting date; and

 

transmits the alert over a wireless communication channel to a wireless computing device associated with the user, wherein the alert activates an application on the wireless computing device to cause the alert to display, and wherein the alert enables connection to the computer system over the Internet.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the alert comprises an SMS message to the wireless computing device of the user.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, providing a credit report to the user that includes the estimated next reporting dates for each of a plurality of accounts of the user.

4. A computing system comprising:

a plurality of lender computing devices each representing a lender that reports credit information about respective users on a periodic basis;

a credit data warehouse comprising millions of credit files relating to a corresponding millions of users;

a plurality of wireless computing devices, each device associated with a user who has at least one account with at least one of the lenders that report the credit information to the credit data warehouse; and

a central computing device comprising;

an acquisition module that

receives credit information from the plurality of lender computing devices, and

for each of a plurality of users,

determines one or more accounts associated with the user based on credit data associated with the users in the credit data warehouse;

an analysis module that, for each of a plurality of users,

determines reporting dates on which respective lenders with which the user has an account provide credit information to the credit data warehouse; and

determines estimated next reporting dates for respective accounts associated with the user, wherein the next reporting dates are determined based on the determined reporting dates associated with respective accounts;

a presentation module that, for each of the plurality of users,

generates an alert based on at least one of the estimated next reporting dates, wherein the alert comprises

the estimated next reporting date,

an identifier for the respective account, and

a link to additional information relating to the estimated next reporting date; and

transmits the alert over a wireless communication channel to a wireless computing device associated with the user, wherein the alert activates an application on the wireless computing device to cause the alert to display, and wherein the alert enables connection to the computing system over the Internet.

5. The computing system of claim 4, wherein the alert comprises an SMS message to the wireless computing device of the user.

6. The computing system of claim 4, wherein the presentation module is further configured to provide a credit report to the user that includes the estimated next reporting dates for each of the plurality of accounts of the user.

7. The computing system of claim 4, wherein the next reporting dates are determined based on a predictive model generated by the analysis module.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions thereon, wherein the instructions are readable by a central computing device in order to communicate with each of:

a plurality of lender computing devices each representing a lender that reports credit information about respective users on a periodic basis;

a credit data warehouse comprising millions of credit files relating to a corresponding millions of users;

a plurality of wireless computing devices, each device associated with a user who has at least one account with at least one of the lenders that report the credit information to the credit data warehouse; and

wherein the instructions are executable by the central computing device to;

perform operations comprising;

receiving credit information from the plurality of lender computing devices; and

for each of a plurality of users, determine one or more accounts associated with the users based on credit data associated with the users in the credit data warehouse;

determine reporting dates on which respective lenders with which the user has an account provide credit information to the credit data warehouse;

determine estimated next reporting dates for respective accounts associated with the user, wherein the next reporting dates are determined based on the determined reporting dates associated with respective accounts;

generate an alert based on at least one of the estimated next reporting dates, wherein the alert comprises;

the estimated next reporting date,

an identifier of the corresponding account, and

a link to additional information relating to the estimated next reporting date; and

transmit the alert over a wireless communication channel to a wireless computing device associated with the user, wherein the alert activates an application on the wireless computing device to cause the alert to display, and wherein the alert enables connection to the central computing device over the Internet.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the alert comprises an SMS message to the wireless computing device of the user.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the central computing device is further configured to provide a credit report to the user that includes the estimated next reporting dates for each of a plurality of accounts of the user.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the accounts are sorted by the estimated next reporting dates of the accounts.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the next reporting dates are determined based a predictive model generated by the computing device.