Abstract: An apparatus for allowing a telecommunication service provider to manage the risk that a subscriber will not pay their bill for use of the provider's telecommunication system comprising interface means, operating within a digital computer, for communicating information relating to a particular subscriber, said interface means includes a first portion for communicating information relating to said particular subscriber with a payment records database and a second portion for receiving a call information record for each call involving said particular subscriber, said call information record derived from information compiled by a switching center that is capable of establishing connections between a plurality of pairs of telecommunication devices and simultaneously maintaining such connections; credit means, operating within said digital computer, for using said first portion of said interface to obtain a billing and payment history for said particular subscriber, for using said billing and payment history to es
Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods of authenticating a user on a network, including, based on identity information received from the user, accessing at least one data source to retrieve data associated with the user, comparing the retrieved data against a listing of possible questions associated with the retrieved data to determine associations between the retrieved data and the listing of possible questions, based on a ranking of the listing of possible questions, formulating at least one question set using questions within the listing of possible questions for which retrieved data is available, where each of the at least one question set includes at least two different questions, causing at least some of the questions from the at least one question set to be presented to the user, and, based on responses to the questions from the user, determining whether the user is authenticated.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 10, 2003
Date of Patent:
December 14, 2010
Assignee:
Authorize.Net LLC
Inventors:
Richard Antell, Michael Arena, Michele Chraplewski, Robert D. Shapiro
Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for credit based management of a telecommunication system. One embodiment of the apparatus includes an interface for communicating credit information on a particular subscriber and for receiving call records for the particular subscriber that are derived from a switch which establishes connections between telecommunication devices. A credit limit device then utilizes the credit information to establish a credit limit for the subscriber. The apparatus also includes a device for comparing the particular subscriber's call usage to a credit limit established for the subscriber based on information obtained from the credit bureau. An output device is used to provide an indication that the subscriber has exceeded their credit limit. Another embodiment of the apparatus, includes a device for, upon expiration of a predetermined time period, contacting the credit bureau to obtain a new credit score for a subscriber and use this score to update the subscriber's credit limit.