Patent ID: 6272152
Filing Date: 2001-08-07
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method for authenticating an electronic financial transaction conducted between a user operating a terminal and a third party via two-way transmissions between the terminal and a cable distribution hub of a cable data network, the cable distribution hub including a validation server, the method comprising:(a) extracting a first identification attribute from a first transmission message sent from the terminal to the cable distribution hub and looking up a first user identifier in a first set of user identifiers residing in a database accessible by the validation server in response to the first identification attribute;(b) extracting a second identification attribute from a second transmission message sent from the terminal to the cable distribution hub and looking up a second user identifier in a second set of user identifiers residing in the database accessible by the validation server in response to the second identification attribute;(c) comparing the first user identifier and the second user identifier together against each other to validate an identity of the user;(d) interrupting the electronic financial transaction when there is a discrepancy in the comparison indicating that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are different; and(e) allowing the electronic financial transaction to proceed when there is no discrepancy in the comparison indicating that the first user identifier and the second user identifier are the same.