Abstract:
The present invention is directed to systems and methods which identify fraudulent situations during the transaction phase. In one embodiment, such detection is accomplished by monitoring for situations either outside the range of normal for the general population or outside the range of normal for this particular user. The normal range could be rule driven and, for example, could include size of a given purchase, frequency of purchases, identity of use equipment being utilized for the current transaction, etc. The rule could be relaxed or tightened, at least in part, based on the length of time that the user has been a customer and the user&#39;s past payment history. In one embodiment, device ids are used to detect fraudulent users. These device (or software) ids could, for example, be a “fingerprint” of the user&#39;s equipment, or a “cookie” previously downloaded to the user that identifies the user to the fulfillment system. In situations where fraud is detected downloading the value to the user is interrupted.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/616,513 filed Dec. 27, 2006, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ON-LINE PRINTING FRAUD PROTECTION,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The present application is also related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/197,044, entitled “GENERIC VALUE BEARING ITEM LABELS,” filed Jul. 16, 2002, published as 2003/0037008 on Feb. 20, 2003; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/975,532, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING COMPUTER-BASED POSTAGE STAMPS,” filed Oct. 10, 2001, published as 2002/0073039 on Jun. 13, 2002 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,158 on Mar. 13, 2007, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/239,424, entitled “A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING COMPUTER BASED POSTAGE STAMPS,” filed Oct. 10, 2000; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/690,066, entitled “CRYPTOGRAPHIC MODULE FOR SECURE PROCESSING OF VALUE-BEARING ITEMS,” filed Oct. 16, 2000, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,110 on May 8, 2007; which applications being owned by a common entity with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to on-line fraud protection in general and more specifically to systems and methods for fraudulent detection and prevention in on-line value transfer situations. Even more specifically, this disclosure addresses fraud protection when users receive value indicia via Internet facilitated transfer of items of value. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Electronic commerce has become commonplace and as the value of such commerce has increased so has the sophistication of criminal activities. Electronic on-line printing of tickets, stamps and other indicia of value allows these items to be printed in the comfort of one&#39;s home or office. This relative privacy presents a tempting target for those with a larcenous bent. 
     In one scenario, a fraudulent user (fraudster) simply uses a stolen or otherwise invalid credit card to order the downloaded material that is printed on paper located at the fraudster&#39;s premises. In some situations, one needs to be a member or otherwise have a log-in identity in order to print the desired material. To overcome this requirement, fraudulent user&#39;s create a log-on, download what they want, and then stop using the log-on. The next time they desire to print the tickets, postage indicia, etc., they create a new log-on identity using a different credit facility, which often proves to be stolen or otherwise improper. 
     In other scenarios, the fraudulent user logs onto the system and obtains something of value, for example, a downloaded postage indicia for printing, either immediately or at a subsequent time, onto stock material at the customer&#39;s location. In some situations, the transaction turns out to be fraudulent in that the user&#39;s credit is not acceptable, the credit facility that was used turns out to be not acceptable, or for any of a number of other reasons the transaction is determined to be improper. One problem with these types of fraudulent situations is that each transaction is independent of previous transactions in that nothing is being shipped to a permanent address and thus each transaction is transient. Attempts to identify the computer (or other electronic address information) are often futile since fraudsters have a facility for masking their electronic identity. In addition, certain intermediary systems, such as ISP providers, often modify (or allow a user to modify) their real addresses and even their machine identities (MAC identifications). 
     Another method for preventing recurring fraud from the same user is to block the account (log-on) from that user. However, the fraudster then opens a new account using a new phony id. Often, when promotions are being offered it is customary to limit such promotions to “one per customer”. In these situations users are tempted to “fake” their identity in order to obtain more than one promotion. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to systems and methods which identify fraudulent situations during the transaction phase. In one embodiment, such detection is accomplished by monitoring for situations either outside the range of normal for the general population or outside the range of normal for this particular user. The normal range could be rule driven and, for example, could include size of a given purchase, frequency of purchases, identity of use equipment being utilized for the current transaction, etc. The rule could be relaxed or tightened, at least in part, based on the length of time that the user has been a customer and the user&#39;s past payment history. In one embodiment, device ids are used to detect fraudulent users. These device (or software) ids could, for example, be a “fingerprint” of the user&#39;s equipment, of a “cookie” previously downloaded to the user that identifies the user to the fulfillment system. In situations where fraud is detected downloading the value to the user is interrupted. 
     The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows one embodiment of a system for controlling on-line printing of value indicia; 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  show one embodiment of stock materials; 
         FIG. 2  shows one embodiment of a method for controlling the distribution of stock material; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  show one embodiment of a method for controlling the printing of value indicia on stock material; and 
         FIG. 4  shows one embodiment of a rules chart for a few possible fraud situations for use in a rules engine. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown one embodiment of systems, such as system  10 , which allows the user at PC  11  to access a remote location such as location  120  to receive indicia value data to be printed locally on printer  18 . In the embodiment shown, the postage indicia, as controlled by indicia value data from server  13  is printed on a sheet of stock, such as stock  100  shown in  FIG. 1A . Communication between user PC  11  and the system at location  120  is via a network, such as network  12 . It should also be noted that while a PC is shown, any type of computing device can be utilized and the location where the printing occurs can be a single location as shown or can be networked together in an intranet wirelessly or otherwise. Also note that communications between elements can be wire line or wireless, or combinations thereof. As used herein, the work “indicia” can be singular or plural. 
     When a user desires to print postage indicia, the user must, in one embodiment, obtain the stock material either from a supplier local to the user (a store, or perhaps an on-line supplier other than the on-line supplier of the postage indicia). In some situations, such as the situation of the embodiment, the user obtains the stock material from the same online supplier that supplies the postage. Thus, as will be detailed hereinafter, when a user logs onto the system at location  120 , the user identifies him/herself and orders the necessary supplies which are then checked through inventory  15  with payments being processed through processing facility  14 . Fulfillment  16  then sends the supplies physically to the user at PC  11 . Note that this transaction, i.e., the obtaining of stock material, always precedes the actual downloading of postage in situations where the material is obtained from the vendor since the postage indicia is to be printed (retained) on the obtained stock material by the customer at the customer&#39;s location. Also note that the cost of the material is significant less (more than ten times less) than the cost of postage. Thus, there is not very much reason for the fraudster to use invalidly obtained credit facilities for purchasing stock material. In other situations, the indicia can be printed on plain paper such as would occur when the indicia is printed as part of an address label or directly on to an envelope. In these situations the stock material is not purchased. Also, in some situations the indicia is printed at the vendor&#39;s location and shipped to the customer. 
     In situations where the print stock is bought from a vendor other than the vendor supplying the postage indicia data, then the id of the stock material, together with the id of the purchaser is sent to the postage vendor for storage thereat. The user id, both from sales from the postage vendor, or other on-line vendor can be, if desired, augmented by the fingerprint of the buyer. In this situation, the fingerprint can be one or more of the identity of the software being used by the material purchaser, or by the identity of the hardware (such as CPU, hard drive, etc.) of the computer being used by the purchaser or even by the printer associated with the purchaser&#39;s computer. 
     As will be seen from  FIG. 1A , each sheet of stock  100  contains an identity, such as serial number  101 , that identifies the stock and allows that sheet of stock material to become associated with a particular user or group of users. Thus, when fulfillment  16 , in conjunction with inventory control  15  prepares the stock for delivery, the identity and quantity of stock material is recorded for subsequent use in validating the downloading of postage to a user. For example, the quantity and identity of each piece of stock material obtained by a user, or user group, can be stored in memory  13 - 2  under of control of processor  13 - 1 . In some situations the serial numbers of stock need not be unique (i.e., more than one customer can have stock with the same serial number) but rather the test can be whether the records show that a present user has print stock with a particular number associated with that user. 
     Subsequently, after the user obtains physical possession of the stock material at the location of printer  18 , the user, using a PC, such as PC  11 , or any other appropriate communication device, and network  12 , accesses server  13  for the purpose of obtaining postage media data on-line from the vendor at location  120 . As has become customary, the user then identifies him/herself to server  13 . The user also identifies the stock material, either by verbally saying the serial number(s) of the stock that will be used or by allowing the serial numbers to be read into the system from, for example, printer  18 . Any method of communicating the id number (or other form factors) of the printable stock that the customer intends to use can be employed, including, for example, typing the information, scanning, PDF and the like. 
     During the validation process the system, using rules engine  13 - 3 , will determine if the current transaction is “suspicious” i.e., contains undesirable parameter values. Essentially, the rules cover the amount of postage purchased, the frequency of the purchase and the longevity of the customer as a registered user. Also the parameters contain the fact as to whether or not a user is a regular customer and, for example, how many times has that user changed his/her credit card number. The frequency of credit card number changes is also a “suspicious” activity in that if a user changes the credit facility too often that can be an indication of fraudulent intent. This same thing applies to printing. If a particular user is attempting to (or has) printed unusual amounts of indicia or if the user is printing rather fast compared to the normal average, such that, for example, if a user is attempting to print $10,000 dollars worth of indicia in a day, one can suppose that fraud is occurring. Also, if the postage denominations are unusual, that could be an indication of improper usage. 
     Note also that while the charges may be made to a valid card and to the proper card holder, that user might, at a later date deny the charges and thus the amount will be charged back to the provider. When this happens it is important that subsequent purchases be inhibited or at least challenged. 
     In addition, the system keeps track of, for example in memory  13 - 2 , actual parameter values and dates of downloads, postage purchases and/or postage indicia prints from each user (or from those users where there is reason to believe a problem might exist). Then when the volume suddenly changes, or the pattern of activity changes, a flag can be set to be on guard for possible fraudulent activity with respect to a credit facility or with respect to a particular user account. 
     Registration of the same credit facility to multiple users can be a trigger, as can be changes in account address, printer, computer, etc. Any number of parameters, such as those outlined above, can be stored and the values associated with each such parameter can be used and the range limit set for a group of users or for specific users. These range limits can be varied on a user by user or group by group basis, if desired. The range changes can be based on previous users or groups. 
     If the rules engine does not flag an indicia order having undesirable parameters, then after payment processing  14  determines that the transaction appears valid, the system matches, if desired, the user id to the serial number(s) and/or any other measured form factors to determine if a proper match exists. If the match is proper and/or if the stock count is proper, as determined from records maintained, for example in memory  13 - 2 , and if the user is not known as a fraudster for other reasons, then postage data from postage vault  17  is sent for storage at PC  11  for subsequent printing under control of PC  11  at printer  18  on stock material  100 . 
     In situations where the rules engine flags a suspicious activity, i.e., an activity or transaction that is outside of the acceptable limits for this particular user, the transaction is either blocked or additional checking, perhaps by a phone call or other personal interaction, is undertaken. 
     In some situations, the id of the user will identify the user as a trusted user and then material or other form factor matching may be waived, if desired. A trusted user in this context can be defined as desired, but usually would be a user who has been regularly downloading postage indicia without incident for a period of time. This information could be maintained, for example, in a table located in memory  13 - 2 . 
       FIG. 1A  shows one embodiment of stock  100  having the ability to print sixteen postage indicia ( 100 - 1  to  100 - 16 ) based upon value sent from postage vault  17  ( FIG. 1 ). In some situations the user may desire to print less than the sixteen available postage indicia at a single time. In such situations, the user will then subsequently log on to server  13  using the same serial number as was previously used. The system would know, perhaps by a record maintained in memory  13 - 2 , that there would only be say twelve possible indicia remaining because four indicia were used previously. This situation is shown in  FIG. 1B . 
     Also under some conditions as will be discussed, multiple sheets of material  100  could have the same serial number and thus the number of pages utilized by the user is maintained so as to prevent fraudulent activity. 
       FIG. 2  shows one embodiment of a method such as method  20  for allowing a user to purchase stock online. In this embodiment, a customer logs onto the system such as server  13  ( FIG. 1 ) under the control of process  201 . Process  202  then obtains the customer id which could include a PIN number or any other method of authentication if desired. The identity could be, for example, electronic information sent from the user, or it could be any other method of identifying a unique customer, or a customer from a group of customers all of which could be authorized to use the same serial number or other control form factor. 
     Process  203  obtains the customer order for the desired stock. Process  204  checks the inventory to be certain that that order can be fulfilled. Process  205  processes the payment by accepting a credit card or other credit facility. Then, if all appears to be in order, process  206  ships the customer order to the physical location specified by the user. 
     Process  207  then stores the order information in association with the customer id so that subsequently it can be determined whether the serial number of stock material being utilized for postage printing, as well as the quantity (if desired) of that stock match the user. Note that had the user gone to a source other than the online source at location  120  as discussed above, then the third party who supplied the stock material to the user would have sent the serial number and other identification information to the system for recording as controlled by processes  207  and  208 . 
       FIGS. 3A  and B show one embodiment of a method, such as method  30 , for allowing a customer to print postage indicia via an online system. Process  303  allows the customer to log-on to print postage in the well known manner. Process  304  checks for known problems (fraudsters), for example by comparing the customer&#39;s software id, or his/her hardware id or printer ids against a stored list of problems from prior transactions. This problem list can be maintained locally or could be obtained remotely, for example, from a national database of known fraudsters. Such a national database can be public or private, as desired. 
     If the customer is not on the problem list, then process  305  takes the print order from the customer using the customer&#39;s id. Note that id need not be a numerical value, but could be any manner of uniquely identifying the customer. Process  306  determines if the customer has previously obtained sufficient postage value to allow for the printing of the desired amount of postage indicia. If not, process  307  interactively works with the customer to replenish the postage value available for use by the customer. When this is complete, or if enough postage value already exists, then process  308  obtains from the customer, either manually, verbally with audio to digital translation or otherwise, the id information pertaining to the stock material that the customer wishes to use to print the postage. 
     Process  309  determines (optionally) if this user is a trusted user. If so, then the fraud detection (or a portion of the rules within the fraud detection) can be bypassed, if desired. Assuming the id is not one of a trusted user, then process  310  determines if a fingerprint has been taken of this user&#39;s equipment. If not, then process  316  determines if a fingerprint should be taken and if so process  317  controls the fingerprinting and storage, perhaps in memory  13 - 2  ( FIG. 1 ), of the results. 
     If a previous fingerprint had been taken then process  312  determines if the “fingerprint” of the user&#39;s equipment matches the previous fingerprint. If not, then the mismatch can be used, if desired, as an indication that the current transaction is suspect. In such a case, process  318  will hold the transactions for further process, terminate the transaction, turn the transaction over for fraud processing or perhaps just change the rules levels. 
     When a fingerprint matches a previous fingerprint, process  313  enables the rules engine, such as rules engine  13 - 3  ( FIG. 1 ) working with processor  13 - 1  ( FIG. 1 ) to help determine if this user, or the transaction parameters of this transaction, cause concern. In this regard, chart  40  ( FIG. 4 ) is helpful in understanding some of the many possible fraud and/or potential trouble conditions. 
     For example, line  402  of chart  40 , shows that this user (as determined from the user&#39;s presented id or fingerprint id) shows how much postage per day this user has been using on average. The chart also could show the average postage per day for all users (or for a portion of users with a similar profile to this user). The rule then could be to only allow, for example, $75 worth of postage each day. The amount limit can be pre-calculated or it can be calculated dynamically based, for example, on factors established by the vendor from time to time and dependent on behaviors of the customer. Line  403  deals with the number of accesses to the system each day by this same user and while the user&#39;s number is lower than the average, a limit of 3 times a day is placed on the account, at least until a pattern has emerged. 
     Line  404  indicates that this user has been known to the system one week or less and until the user has been known to the system for at least 10 weeks the user will be treated with care and the highest level of scrutiny will occur. Note that the different rules and different values for each rule can be used based upon many factors for each user. 
     Some conditions, such as shown in lines  406 ,  407 ,  408 , and  409 , could be flag conditions such that if any of these transactions were to occur a trouble condition would be triggered. For example, in line  406  this user purchased 1000 sheets of stock material onto which postage indicia is to be printed. The average user in this category of user only buys 100 sheets. This then triggers a flag condition such that when the user logs-in to buy postage indicia his/her account can be immediately flagged for further processing, or more stringent rules can be applied. 
     Another example of a flag condition is shown in line  408 . This user (same id or fingerprint) has switched credit facilities five times within a certain period (or since the user first identified him/herself) where the average number of changes is two times. 
     Returning now to  FIG. 3A , process  315 , based on the results of the rules checking determines whether or not to proceed with supplying value to this user. 
     Fingerprint checking can be used for many control functions. By way of example, in situation where “specials” are run, such as free (or reduced) postage for a month, providing the customer sign up for a year, some customers may simply use the free postage, cancel their subscription and then, at a later time, sign up again. By maintaining a record of the fingerprint, say of the customer&#39;s printer (or software, CPU, etc.) any subsequent “free trial periods” can be blocked under control of processes  313 ,  314  and  315  based on a fingerprint match to the previous “trial” period. 
     If process  315  allows fulfillment to continue, then process  320 ,  FIG. 3B , determines if it is necessary to check for paper stock id numbers. If so, process  321  determines if the customer&#39;s stock id matches what the system believes is associated with that customer or group of customers. For example, process  315  may access database  13 - 2 ,  FIG. 1 , to see if this customer&#39;s id matches the range of ids associated with that customer. Note that the customer may be one of a group of people authorized within a range, or the customer may be a trusted user, in which case checking of the serial numbers may be optional for that user. In this context a trusted user is one where the likelihood of fraud has for one reason or another, such as exemplary behavior over a period of time, is reduced below a threshold. 
     Process  322  then, if necessary for this user, determines if the stock count is right. This count is necessary in some situations for example, because multiple sheets of material may have the same serial number. If the user has been determined to have used five sheets of material but still has five sheets remaining, the user would be allowed to purchase postage indicia up to five sheets. However, had the customer had five sheets available and this postage indicia would require a sixth sheet, then the sixth sheet worth of postage would be rejected via process  322 . The order then would be held for further processing, and/or fraud identification under control of process  326 . If process  322  determines that the stock count is right, then process  323  processes the order. This is done, for example, by process  324  which generating postage indicia data from postage vault  17  and transmits this data to PC  11 . Process  325  then removes the stock id from the available stock, if applicable, and adjusts the stock count. Process  327  then under control of the customer and PC  11  generates postage indicia from the data transmitted from the system. 
     Note that chart  40 ,  FIG. 4 , shows only a few of the many situations that can be checked, including, for example, a check of the address (both physical and electronic), supplied phone numbers, etc. In some situations, the printer id can be captured and matched to the user. This could be part of the fingerprinting, or a separate operation. This id can be the actual number of the printer (MAC address or otherwise) or it could be a name given to the printer as contained in the operating system. Cookies can be downloaded and information received back pertaining to the identity of the user, if desired, all used by the rules engine and the processor to determine possible fraud conditions. 
     In some situations the system could be set up to block partial fingerprints, such as a MAC address. However, in some situations it is not practical to simply block the machine because it could be a shared “library” or “kiosk” machine. In those situations, additional detective work will be required to detect possible fraud conditions. In situations such as that, the system could mark the known shared machine as a trusted (or suspicious) location. In all cases, something else may trigger the fraud detection even though the postage is being printed at a trusted location. 
     Another twist is that the system might be designed to look at the sales channel from which the user is coming. Corporate channels could have less scrutiny than unaffiliated or otherwise unknown individuals. Triggers could be geared to payment type, such that if a user is using certain payment types that are more fraud driven than other types then the rule limits or parameters can be adjusted accordingly. 
     In some situations the IP address can be used to determine the geographical location of the user&#39;s machine. This, of course, can be spoofed, but in fact in many situations it is possible to determine, for example, that a transaction is coming in from outside the United States. The system can block based on the domain, depending on which country the user is coming from. 
     Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.