Patent ID: 7107242
Filing Date: 2006-09-12
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of conducting electronic credit card transactions so as to guard against fraud, comprising the following steps: using a computer program mandated by a credit card issuer, a user of a credit card issued by the credit card issuer (a) initiates a proposed credit card transaction with a third party vendor by accessing via said third party vendor a party authorized by said credit card issuer to validate credit card transactions, and (b) transmits and to said authorized party non-encrypted time-limited information concerning the user and an encrypted personal identification number that comprises in encrypted form a date/time stamp and certain information identifying said user; said authorized party receives said encrypted time-limited personal identification number and said non-encrypted information and decrypts said encrypted time-limited personal identification number to derive said date/time stamp and said certain information identifying said user; said authorized party (1) compares said non-encrypted and decrypted information with previously recorded user information to verify that the user initiating the proposed transaction is an authorized user and (2) also compares the current transaction time represented by said decrypted date/time stamp with the time of its receipt of said encrypted date/time stamp and determines if the difference, if any, between said times is within a predetermined time limit required for validating the proposed transaction; and depending on the determinations made in the forgoing step, said authorizing party (a) rejects said proposed transaction if said user is not verified to be an authorized user or if the difference between said times is not within said predetermined time limit and (b) approves said proposed transaction if said user is verified as an authorized user and the difference between said times is within said predetermined time limit.