Patent ID: 9729586
Date: 2017-08-08
CPC Classifications: H04L,H04M,H04Q

Claim:
1. A method for detecting auto-dialed calls in real-time or near real-time, the method comprising: receiving, at a call router of an inter-carrier network switch communicatively connected to a data storage device storing call data records (CDRs) and to a plurality of terminating exchanges, an indication of an incoming call received at the inter-carrier network switch and including an Automatic Number Identification (ANI); based on the reception of the indication of the incoming call, (i) causing an indication of a call attempt corresponding to the ANI to be stored in a cache, and (ii) determining an ending time of a sliding window of time, the sliding window having a duration that is configurable based on one or more of a time of day, a date, a customer of the inter-carrier network switch, or a user input; determining, by the call router, whether to allow or to deny incoming calls from the ANI based on a number of call attempts corresponding to the ANI that have been received at the intercarrier network switch during the sliding window of time as indicated by contents of the cache, the number of call attempts corresponding to the ANI and to a plurality of called telephone numbers; when incoming calls from the ANI are determined to be allowed, processing the incoming call, based on a real-time analysis of contents of the cache performed during a call flow of the incoming call, through a Private Packet Network Backbone Exchange (PPNBE) of the inter-carrier network switch to a particular terminating exchange of the plurality of terminating exchanges, the particular terminating exchange corresponding to a called party indicated by the incoming call, and causing a call data record for the incoming call to be stored in the data storage device; and when incoming calls from the ANI are determined to be denied, not processing the incoming call through the PPNBE to any terminating exchange.