Abstract:
The system employs the use of biometric authentication, a fraud control gateway and widget, and a point of sale sensor to restrict the use of credit cards or other financial tokens to authenticated actual owners of the card or token. The card or token holder will have biometric information entered into a database during an initiation or enrollment process, and subsequent uses of the card may be authenticated by comparing the biometric information of the attempted user to biometric information stored in the system. The biometric component is used for voice authentication. As part of a multi-factor security schema, the biometric authentication is combined with a series of point of sale and fraud control methods to ensure a comprehensive security umbrella for financial transactions. Both financial institution limits to transactions and consumer-preferred limits to transactions are employed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application relates to and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/428,794 filed Dec. 30, 2010 and entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING BIOMETRICS FOR CREDIT CARD FRAUD PROTECTION, which is wholly incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    1. Technical Field 
         [0004]    The present disclosure relates generally to electronic transaction processing and management, and more particularly, to systems and methods for biometrics-based fraud prevention with customer contact center interactions, credit card transactions and other financial transactions involving customer-driven preferred alerts, thresholds, and limits. 
         [0005]    2. Related Art 
         [0006]    Credit cards are a popular payment method, and the average number of transactions per user is increasing year by year. Many of these transactions are no longer in person or point of sale transactions, but are transactions that take place over the phone or online. Many users sense an increased risk for these remote transactions and often decline to participate in the modern economy as a result. Even customers who do participate in remote transactions have a heightened anxiety about the security of their identity and credit card information. People rightfully are concerned about identity theft, credit card theft and fraud, and other misuses of private and personal financial data and information. 
         [0007]    There are a number of security checks that can prevent fraudulent transactions, but many of these aid the vendor more than the consumer. Oftentimes merchant agreements with credit card issuers pass the liability for fraud on to the merchant, and proper crediting for losses may require extensive investigation and documentation. Under existing law, the consumer is rarely, if ever, liable. As such, it is perhaps not unexpected that much fraud prevention efforts have focused largely on the vendor side. 
         [0008]    One technique is to require the user to provide the security code that is printed on their credit card. This is often a four digit number that is separate from the credit card account number. This allows the vendor to at least feel confident that the person has the physical card in their hands, but it does not aid the consumer because anyone who has the physical card can initiate and complete transactions. 
         [0009]    Another security measure is the use of complex algorithms that create patterns for each consumer. When card activity appears outside of the typical use pattern for a consumer, the credit card company will often contact the cardholder to validate a recent transaction, or to inquire if their card might be lost or stolen. 
         [0010]    To offer some degree of comfort for the consumer, but also to add a level of protection against fraud to the credit card issuer and to the merchant, various consumer-side user experience enhancements have been contemplated. Although not implemented by most credit card issuers, these enhancements include the ability for the consumer to set thresholds and preferences that will trigger alerts and fraud remediation. For example, consumers can indicate the upper limits of spending on a credit card or other financial token so an alert will trigger further verification means if that threshold is reached. These techniques provide some level of protection to the merchant and the credit card company, but they do not provide additional protection for the consumer. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for systems and methods for biometrics-based fraud prevention 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0011]    The present disclosure is directed to a financial transaction fraud prevention system that may include a collection of intelligent software and input/output devices which, in concert, provide multi-factor authentication and security for financial transactions. In one aspect, a security application service is used to manipulate inbound and outbound phone calls which connect to consumers&#39; smart phones or regular phones. This security application service also controls biometric engines and a biometric token database. 
         [0012]    In another aspect of the invention, a customer service agent desktop is connected to the system via telephony and data communications links and special fraud control software. Such fraud control software is used to alert customer service agents of suspected fraud-based activity and other data having to do with an attempted financial transaction. A point of sale gateway and sensor is used to convert standard web, P.O.S. or ACH type transactions into standard data/transaction streams for interpretation by a fraud decisioning engine, which is likewise connected to the aforementioned application server. Consumers may interact with the system either by IVR (Interactive Voice Response) or Smartphone or computer, in order to set pre-defined thresholds for financial transactions, location, frequency of use, and a variety of other attributes—in order to set triggers for fraud or unauthorized use based on the preferences of the consumer. The combination of the biometric validation, fraud control software, consumer-driven fraud threshold preferences, and point of sale gateway and sensor provide for a comprehensive security schema for financial transactions. 
         [0013]    The security application service provides voice biometric identification for card user verification during the card swipe process. The biometric authentication may not always be used. In one embodiment, the system is triggered by one or more factors that may be present in, or prior to, a transaction. These factors can include triggering by current fraud detection techniques at the card processor, preset spending limits, and other triggers. 
         [0014]    When the credit card processor or financial token processor fraud detection algorithm detects an out of pattern purchase or use profile, the card processor can call the user and use the biometric voice authentication to satisfy themselves that the user is authentic. These algorithms are also based on pre-set thresholds and attributes established by the consumer. Further, the card issuer can then query the cardholder to determine if the user is at the current point of sale or if recent activity is legitimate. These detection algorithms may be stored in security application service, or they can be conveyed to the same over a data communications facility in real time or part of a batch upload process. 
         [0015]    The biometric authentication may be achieved via the use of outbound telephone calls where a phone call is made to the telephone number of the card user and voice prompts are used to navigate the user through the process of voice authentication. Alternatively, an application running on a Smartphone, a computer, or within a web browser could be used to record a voice sample of the purchaser and that sample transmitted over a data network to a processing center for comparison with the stored users profile. 
         [0016]    The card issuer or the cardholder can set spending limits, frequency or use limits, location limits, and other attributes (on a per transaction basis and/or a cumulative basis), and if those limits are exceeded, biometric authentication is required to allow purchases outside of those pre-set consumer-preferred limits. 
         [0017]    Other triggers for biometric authorization during online transactions are envisioned. The cardholder can set purchase limits that do not require biometric verification. If a transaction is a pre-set limit, the system will automatically call the customer for biometric authorization. The system can be integrated into the website shopping cart process without requiring any additional infrastructure change on the part of the website. The present invention will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a financial transaction fraud prevention system in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure including a remote security application service and an enterprise/consumer domain; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating a point-of-sale terminal initiated transaction as handled by the financial transaction fraud prevention system; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary transaction denial routine as executed by the financial transaction fraud prevention system; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary fraud control widget routine; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a transaction initiated with a phone or mobile communications device as handled by the financial transaction fraud prevention system. 
       
    
    
       [0024]    Common reference numerals are used throughout the drawings and the detailed description to indicate the same elements. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiments of a system and method for biometrics-based fraud prevention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be developed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiment. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention. It is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first and second and the like are used solely to distinguish one from another entity without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  depicts a financial transaction fraud prevention system  10  for using biometrics for credit card and other financial transaction fraud protection along with multi-factor authorization facets. There is a network-based security application service  100  that is comprised of a media gateway  101 , a biometric engine  102 , biometric token database  103 , an application server  104 , a fraud control gateway  105 , a fraud decisioning engine  106 , a point of sale gateway and sensor  107 , and a customer record system  108 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the security application service  100  is a hosted SaaS (Software as a Service) system, but may in fact manifest in a behind-the-firewall customer premises model, or a hybrid of the two. 
         [0027]    Also depicted in  FIG. 1  is the enterprise and consumer domain  200 , the elements of which interact with the security application service  100 . The enterprise and consumer domain  200  is comprised of an agent desktop  210  further comprised of an agent communications device  211  and fraud control application  212 , consumer communications device  202 , a consumer web commerce input  220 , a consumer POS (Point of Sale) terminal input  230 , and an ACH (Automated Clearing House) input  240 , and a customer record system  208 , or replication or access to an alternate customer record system or duplicate customer record system. 
         [0028]    The media gateway  101  serves the purpose of telephony functions and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) functions. This includes the ability to process inbound and outbound telephone calls, bridging of calls, playing of prompts, recording consumer speech, collecting spoken or touch-tone commands, and comparing biometric tokens and captured speech with the aid of the biometric engine  102 , including the enrollment of users in the biometric database. Such an apparatus is commonly available in piece parts such as media gateway cards supplied by Sangoma Corporation or Dialogic Corporation, and software available in the open domain such as FreeSwitch, or software from companies such as Genesys or Cisco. Those having ordinary skill in the art will be familiar with these tools which are readily available in the open marketplace. 
         [0029]    The media gateway  101 , under the command of the secure application server  104 , is also employed to present IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menus and selections that allow consumers to create stored templates that are sent to the customer record system  108 . These stored templates allow the consumer to set pre-defined limits for each credit card or financial token. Such limits may include, but are not limited to dollar amounts for each use, frequency and locations. These templates may be solicited during biometric enrollment or at any time by calling a pre-assigned telephone number. Changes to the templates are also governed by biometric authentication. 
         [0030]    The biometric engine  102  analyzes spoken words from the consumer and compares those words to a pre-captured set of phrases and words already stored in the biometric token database  103 . Biometric verification software to accomplish this function is commonly available from vendors such as Nuance Communications and VoiceVault. Those having ordinary skill in the art will be familiar with standard protocols and methods such as MRCP to connect the biometric engine  102  and the biometric token database  103  to the media gateway  101 . 
         [0031]    The secure application server  104  is the communication and control hub of the security application service  100 . The secure application server  104  has individual connections the other elements of the security application service  100  over a common communications facility such as TCP/IP or other common data communications method. The secure application server  104  serves as the state controller, application controller, decisioning controller, database access mechanism and gateway controller. The application server  104  is may be a RESTlet (Representational State Transfer) Java framework, though this is by way of example only and not of limitation. It will be recognized that REST is a fundamental model for simple HTTP communications. Other available client/server or command/control protocols and models can be used, although the preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a REST-based architecture. 
         [0032]    The fraud control gateway  105  is used to connect directly to the fraud control application  212  or equivalent desktop software such as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fraud control application  212  can be created using commonly available tools for presence management (SMPP) and chat communication ( 1 M/Chat) using open source software. One implementation utilizes a widget on the desktop so that the security application service  100  can easily connect to agents over HTTP and further, no integration at the desktop is necessary. Information about the caller&#39;s biometric verification can be sent to the widget and the widget can broadcast agent availability (presence) using common protocols so no deep integration with CRM or CTI (Computer Telephone Integration) systems is required. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the fraud control gateway  105  can connect directly to a CRM system at the agent desktop  210 . 
         [0033]    Such a CRM system is commonly available from companies such as Oracle or Salesforce.com. It will be appreciated that various APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are available for communicating with these CRM systems and databases. 
         [0034]    The purpose of the fraud decisioning engine  106  is to: a) manage multiple point of sale transactions; b) categorize security threats based on pre-defined rules; c) manage multiple phone or SmartPhone-based transactions&#39; attributes based on data received from the secure application server  104 ; and d) pass suggested workflow actions to the Secure application server  104 . 
         [0035]    The decisioning and policy management capabilities of the fraud decisioning engine  106  can be created using off-the-shelf tools available for BPM (Business Process Management). These tools are available as open source such as the DROOLS Decisioning system supported by JBOSS, or the Oracle RTD (Real Time Decisioning) system. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fraud decisioning engine  106  is a stand-alone process associated with the security application service  100  and co-located with the other elements thereof. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the fraud decisioning engine  106  itself can be hosted elsewhere or part of a separate service which may integrate with the other components of the security application service  100 . 
         [0036]    In another embodiment of the fraud decisioning engine  106 , the engine can be provided by the card issuer or it can be part of the system as desired by the participants. If there is anything at the fraud decisioning engine  106  that would trigger the need for biometric authorization, either a potential fraud detection or a customer initiated trigger (e.g. purchase amount) then the transaction information is routed to the secure application server  104 . 
         [0037]    As briefly indicated above, the security application service  100  includes the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . One aspect thereof is to aggregate multiple data sources from web commerce input  220 , the POS terminal input  230 , and the ACH input  240 . Another aspect is understood to be the function of normalizing the data it collects into a single stream of data to be sent to the fraud decisioning engine  106 . These functions will be familiar to those having ordinary skill in the art and common tools and protocols for data transmission and in-line memory management are commonly available. 
         [0038]    Another aspect of the point of sale gateway and sensor  107  is its ability to communicate with the customer record system  108 . In a preferred embodiment of the security application service  100 , the customer record system  108  is encapsulated in a commercial-grade database such as Oracle or Microsoft SQL server, which may be co-located with the other elements of the security application service  100  or distributed. In another embodiment of the invention, the customer record system  108  may be located elsewhere, such as inside the enterprise and consumer domain  200 , as depicted in  FIG. 1 . It will be recognized that remote databases may be accessed variously by direct SQL query, JDBC, web services, or access to database elements by proxy, as in an interface to a CRM system. 
         [0039]    Considering now the various components of the enterprise and consumer domain  200 , the agent desktop  210  is comprised of an agent communications device  211  and the fraud control application  212 . In addition to the aforementioned functions, the fraud control application  212  may also have software to provide phone control capability. There are several protocols and software for TAPI (Telephony API) and CTI (Computer Telephone Integration) interfaces to allow for third party call control of an agent&#39;s desktop phone. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the agent communications device  211  is a commonly available instrument such as a telephone typically connected to a commercially available PBX (Private Branch Exchange) or ACD (Automatic Call Distributor). In this case there is typically an extension number or direct line associated with each phone. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the agent&#39;s phone number is stored in the secure application server  104  and loaded into the fraud control gateway  105 , and further communicated to the associated fraud control application  212 . Here, the secure application server  104  can contain a routing program that associates each agent communications device  211  with each fraud control application  212  to facilitate routing to the correctly available agent when a telephone connection is required for a consumer transaction. 
         [0040]    Likewise, there is a telephone, mobile telephone, or other communications device associated with the consumer who wants to initiate a financial transaction. The consumer communications device  202  is connected to the agent communications device  211  via the media gateway  101  after biometric authentication and other validation steps are taken. 
         [0041]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this consumer communications device  202  may in itself act as a “possession” in the hands of a user who is yet to be validated. The phone number associated with the consumer communications device  202  can be stored in the customer record system  108  and used as a callback phone number to initiate a biometric validation with the consumer. The fact that the consumer can only be called on a device owned by that individual adds another authentication aspect. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the consumer communications device  202  could be replaced by a TV Set-Top box and/or remote, or an in-car telemetry system. In both examples, the set-top box and the automobile itself act as points in a multi-factor authentication schema. 
         [0042]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the consumer communications device  202  has an application associated therewith that will allow the phone itself to act as the web commerce input  220  based on the common ability for some devices to have a separate or hybrid data communications ability in addition to phone call ability. In this particular instance, the phone itself will communicate directly with (or by proxy with other elements in the security application service  100 ) the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . 
         [0043]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the consumer communications device  202  has an application associated therewith that will allow the phone itself to communicate with the secure application server  104 , to allow consumers to create stored templates that are sent to the customer record system  108 . These stored templates allow the consumer to set pre-defined limits for each credit card or financial token. Such limits may include, but are not limited to dollar amounts for each use, frequency and locations. These templates may be solicited during biometric enrollment or at any time by calling a pre-assigned telephone number. Changes to the templates are also governed by biometric authentication. 
         [0044]    The consumer may initiate financial transactions with a system that provides the web commerce input  220 , the POS terminal input  230 , or the ACH input  240 . Various standard protocols and methods employed by credit card transaction companies are utilized to convey credit card and ordering information over the web. These same methods are now commonly available on smartphones, thus permitting the consumer communications device  202  to communicate with the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . 
         [0045]    In another aspect of the invention, the POS terminal input  230  may be employed by the consumer to swipe a card, RFID scan or other transactional “read” of the credit card or other financial token. As with the web commerce input  220  method, the essential data containing the credit information and personal information and credentials are conveyed to the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . The POS terminal input  230  may be employed for recurring debits to the credit card debits on a recurring schedule, such as common “autopay” scenarios. It will be recognized that the security application service  100  can therefore also be used to validate (biometrically) that it is permissible for the consumer to be billed when an “autopay” transaction is set up. 
         [0046]    In another aspect of the invention, the ACH input  240  may be employed by the consumer to perform a card swipe, RFID scan or other transactional “read” of his credit card or other financial token. Likewise, this ACH input  240  may be employed for recurring debits to the credit card debits on a recurring schedule, such as common “autopay” scenarios. Likewise, automated transactions may trigger the use of biometrics to validate that the consumer is ready to accept that charge. 
         [0047]      FIG. 2  is a logic flow chart illustrating one exemplary point-of-sale terminal initiated transaction that is carried out by the above-described financial transaction fraud prevention system  10 . At step  1000 , the transaction process starts. Then, at step  1010 , the consumer initiates a financial transaction by swiping a credit card, entering credit card digits and other credentials into a terminal or web site, or by using a fob or key mechanism. At step  1020 , credit card data, transaction request data and other consumer credentials are transmitted to the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . Step  1025  involves sending a query to the customer record system  108  by the point of sale gateway and sensor  107  in order to retrieve and match consumer data at step  1030 . 
         [0048]    Thereafter, at step  1040 , the point of sale gateway and sensor  107  sends transactional data and consumer profile data to the fraud decisioning engine  106 , which uses its stored algorithms, fraud profiling data, and stored templates and policies to make a decision on whether or not the transaction is suspected of being fraudulent. At step  1050 , the fraud decisioning engine  106  will recommend a promotion of the transaction to the next step or a denial based on the aforementioned data. If the fraud decisioning engine  106  suspects a fraudulent transaction, the transaction is initially denied which triggers step  2000 . If the transaction is allowed to continue, the secure application server  104  initiates its biometric verification routine at step  1060 . 
         [0049]    At step  1065 , the secure application server  104  queries the customer record system  108  for consumer data including pre-set consumer-imposed financial limits, and preferred alert thresholds. These are compared to other algorithms and alert thresholds set by the credit card or financial token provider, whereupon the fraud decisioning engine  106  will send commands to the secure application server  104 . This triggers an outbound call to the consumer at step  1070  based on commands sent from the secure application server  104 . In another aspect of the invention, this step  1070  may alternately employ a data channel between the secure application server  104  and the consumer communications device  202 , where the status of the attempted financial transaction is displayed to the consumer on the communications device  202 . This scenario is not limited to SmartPhones can may also apply to a regular computer or tablet PC. 
         [0050]    At step  1075 , the secure application server  104  commands the media gateway  101  to prompt the caller for credentials which may be entered via speech or touch tone Likewise, the media gateway, in concert with the biometric engine  102 , will analyze spoken input from the consumer to match and validate biometric information at step  1080 . Alternatively, biometric capture can be performed at the communications device  202  and conveyed digitally to the media gateway  101  instead of over the telephone network. Depending on the way the system is deployed the consumer himself may be able to validate the financial transaction on his own and end the use of the system for that transaction. Otherwise, the process continues at step  1090 . 
         [0051]    A call to a customer service agent is initiated form the media gateway  101  at step  1090 . Now the fraud control application routine commences as described in the method beginning at step  3000  below. At step  1100 , the media gateway  101  bridges the consumer telephone call and the agent telephone call together so they may speak. The consumer and the agent conclude their dialog and resulting transaction at step  1110 , where the agent may initiate separate post-call routines depending on the workflow rules at that particular contact center. The consumer hangs up or otherwise terminates the session at step  1120 , and likewise at step  1130  the Agent also hangs up to end the transaction. All of the elements of the system perform standard housekeeping and clean-up tasks at step  1140 , and the resulting data from the transaction are stored in the customer record system  108  at step  1145 . Thus ends a typical transaction in the employ of the security application service  100  for a point-of-sale initiated transaction. 
         [0052]      FIG. 3  depict a transaction denial routine which begins at step  2000 . At step  2010 , the fraud decisioning engine  106  reacts to pre-stored algorithms established by the issuing credit card company or financial token provider. In addition, the fraud decisioning engine  106  reacts to pre-stored templates created by the consumer based on consumer preferences for spending limits, frequency of use, or other attributes preferred by the consumer. Such templates and pre-stored attributes are pre-loaded into the fraud decisioning engine  106  from the customer record system  108  at step  2025 . 
         [0053]    At step  2020 , the fraud decisioning engine  106  will send messages meant for the consumer to the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . The point of sale gateway and sensor  107  will use the appropriate protocol and communication mechanism to further communicate the message to the device associated with the web commerce input  220 , the POS terminal input  230  or the ACH input  240  accordingly. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the fraud decisioning engine  106  will employ the use of the secure application server  104  to communicate the same message directly to the communications device  202 , the fraud control application  212  or by verbal prompts with an outbound phone call set up by the media gateway  101 . 
         [0054]    At step  2030 , the consumer (or by proxy a customer service agent), is prompted to take action on a denied financial request. Such prompting, depending on the templates and thresholds already defined, may take the form of a request to re-try the transaction, or to use an alternate card or financial token, or to further verify the identity of the person financially responsible. The consumer is connected to a customer service call center via a regular IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system or ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) a step  2035 . This step represents the ability to query the consumer for more authentication tokens, connect to a live agent, or other remediation steps which may be automated or semi-automated. At step  2040 , the second attempt is then tried whereupon the process re-starts at step  1000 . Thus ends a typical transaction denial routine in the employ of the Security application service  100  for a point-of-sale initiated transaction. 
         [0055]      FIG. 4  depicts the fraud control application routine commencing at step  3000 . The secure application server  104  queries the fraud control application of each appropriate agent to ascertain agent availability at step  3010 . This may use, but is not limited to common protocols for presence such as SMPP as shown in step  3015 . At step  3020 , the secure application server  104  will query the customer record system  108  for the phone numbers and other attributes associated with the available agents. The security application service  100  will then make an outbound call to the selected agent. 
         [0056]    The security application service  100  will push the requisite information to the fraud control application  212  in order to prepare the agent for the pending transaction with the consumer at step  3025 . Such information may include, but is not limited to the results of the fraud decisioning engine alerts, including card issuer algorithm alerts and pre-set triggers preferred by the consumer. The media gateway  101  will determine whether or not the consumer is active on the phone line in step  3030 . If the consumer is on the line, the process continues at step  3050 . If the caller is not on the line, the process continues at  3100 . 
         [0057]    In the former case, at step  3050 , the media gateway  101  will open a voice path between the agent and the consumer so they are able to speak at the appropriate time. Thereafter, in step  3070 , the secure application server  104  will convey the results of the biometric verification to the agent via the fraud control application  212 . At step  3080 , the system enters into a standard call teardown and housekeeping routine after the transaction has terminated. Then, the routine for determining how long to wait and what action to take if the consumer is not on the line commences at step  3100 . The secure application server  104  continues to query the media gateway  101  for line status at step  3030 . A pre-determined timeout threshold stored in the customer record system  108  is used to determine the correct thresholds for releasing the current agent and trying for a new agent accordingly. 
         [0058]    At step  3120 , the system determines whether a callback attempt to the consumer is successful. If the callback attempt is successful, the process continues at step  3000 . If the callback is not successful, the agent is released to work on other issues and the fraud control application  212  is reset for the proper agent availability. Thus ends a typical fraud control widget routine in the employ of the Security application service  100  for a point-of-sale initiated transaction. 
         [0059]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating one exemplary sequence of interacting with the security application service  100 , in which the transaction is initiated by a phone, smartphone, or other mobile communications device. The transaction process starts at step  4000 , and at step  4010 , the consumer initiates a financial transaction by calling in to the media gateway  101  on the communications device  202 . In an alternate embodiment of the invention the communications device  202  can be replaced with a set top box and remote or an in-car telemetry system. At step  4015 , the IVR or SmartPhone application routine is used to guide the consumer through logical steps—soliciting input from the consumer either in the form of spoken words, touch tone digits, or manipulations of the keys and/or soft keys of the communications device. Similarly, the manipulation of keys and/or soft keys or spoken words with a set top box and remote or an in-car telemetry system may be employed. 
         [0060]    Also at step  4015 , the routines for biometric enrollment, or for defining consumer preferences including limits, location and other attributes that can be solicited from the consumer, may be presented to the user. Such preferences and the methodology for soliciting the same are described in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/767,544 filed Apr. 26, 2010 and entitled “Secure Customer Service Proxy Portal,” the contents of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
         [0061]    At step  4020 , credit card data, transaction request data and other consumer credentials are transmitted to the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . This is achieved by data communication means between the communications device  202  and the web commerce input  220 , or alternately, by direct communication with the point of sale gateway and sensor  107 . Then, at step  4025 , a query is sent by the point of sale gateway and sensor  107  to the customer record system  108  in order to retrieve and match consumer data at step  1030 . 
         [0062]    The point of sale gateway and sensor  107  sends transactional data and consumer profile data to the fraud decisioning engine  106  at step  4040 . The fraud decisioning engine  106  uses its stored algorithms, fraud profiling data, and stored templates and policies to make a decision on whether or not the transaction is suspected of being fraudulent. The fraud decisioning engine  106  will recommend a promotion of the transaction to the next step or a denial based on the aforementioned data in step  4050 . If the fraud decisioning engine  106  suspects a fraudulent transaction, the transaction is initially denied which triggers step  2000 . If the transaction is allowed to continue, the secure application server  104  initiates its biometric verification routine at step  4060 . 
         [0063]    At step  4065 , the secure application server  104  queries the customer record system  108  for consumer data including pre-set consumer-imposed financial limits, and preferred alert thresholds. These are compared to other algorithms and alert thresholds set by the credit card or financial token provider, whereupon the fraud decisioning engine  106  will send commands to the secure application server  104 . This triggers an outbound call to the consumer at step  1070  based on commands sent from the secure application server  104 . In another aspect of the invention, this step  1070  may alternately employ a data channel between the secure application server  104  and the consumer communications device  202 , where the status of the attempted financial transaction is displayed to the consumer on the communications device  202 . This scenario is not limited to SmartPhones, and may also apply to a regular computer or tablet PC. 
         [0064]    Next, in step  4075 , the secure application server  104  commands the media gateway  101  to prompt the caller for credentials which may be entered via speech or touch tone. Likewise, the media gateway, in concert with the biometric engine  102 , will analyze spoken input from the consumer to match and validate biometric information at step  4080 . Alternatively, biometric capture can be performed at the communications device  202  and conveyed digitally to the media gateway  101  instead of over the telephone network. Depending on the way the system is deployed the consumer himself may be able to validate the financial transaction on his own and end the use of the system for that transaction. 
         [0065]    Otherwise, the process continues with step  4090 . Here, a call to a customer service agent is initiated form the media gateway  101 . Now the fraud control widget routine commences as described in the steps beginning at step  3000  as described above. The media gateway  101  bridges the consumer telephone call and the agent telephone call together so they may speak in step  4100 . The consumer and the agent conclude their dialog and resulting transaction at step  4110 . The agent may initiate separate post-call routines depending on the workflow rules at that particular contact center. The consumer hangs up or otherwise terminates the session per step  4120 , and likewise at step  4130 , the agent also hangs up to end the transaction. At step  4140 , all of the elements of the system perform standard housekeeping and clean-up tasks and the resulting data from the transaction are stored in the customer record system  108  at step  4145 . Thus ends a typical transaction in the employ of the security application service  100  for a phone or SmartPhone-initiated transaction. 
         [0066]    One advantage of the system is that it can be used during a transaction where approval or denial happens during the transaction itself. It is understood to reduce risk in online shopping cart transactions by confirming the identity of the customer prior to credit authorization. This is expected to reduce chargebacks due to fraud and reduces risk when shipping to third party addresses. 
         [0067]    The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show details of the present invention with more particularity than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the present invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the present invention may be embodied in practice.