Patent Publication Number: US-2010114750-A1

Title: Communication device and method for securing an internet bank account

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to data securing, and more particularly to a communication device and method for securing an Internet bank account. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Many banks allow people to view or manage account information of their bank accounts through the Internet, through a process known as Internet banking. Access to the account information may involve use of typing in and confirmation of a password. However, if people are forced to transfer money from their Internet bank account to another bank account, then the Internet bank cannot identify something abnormal happening. 
     What is needed, therefore, is an improved communication device and method for securing an Internet bank account. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a communication device in communication with a bank server. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of the communication device including an alarm system. 
         FIG. 3-1  and  FIG. 3-2  are flowcharts of one embodiment of a method for securing an Internet bank account using the communication device of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of one embodiment of the block S 12  of  FIG. 3-1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of one embodiment of the block S 14  of  FIG. 3-1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one. 
     In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be appreciated that modules may comprised connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and may comprise programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a communication device  1  in communication with a bank server  4 . The communication device  1  includes an alarm system  2 . The alarm system  2  may be used to send alarm messages to a receiving device of one or more emergency dispatchers (e.g., the police) when an Internet bank account of a user is in an abnormal state (e.g., under force or threat). In one embodiment, an alarm password corresponding to the Internet bank account is preset. The alarm system  2  may identify that the Internet bank account is in the abnormal state if the communication device  1  receives the alarm password. By utilizing the alarm system  2 , money of the Internet bank account may be protected when people are forced to transfer money from one bank account to another bank account, such as from their Internet bank account to another person&#39;s bank account through the communication device  1 . 
     In one embodiment, the bank server  4  may be a host computer of a bank, for example. In one embodiment, the bank server  4  may be a web server, which hosts a website of an Internet bank (e.g., the website of the bank). The website provides various webpages for people to logon, browse, or manage account information of the Internet bank account, do on-line transactions, transfer money, for example. 
     The communication device  1  may be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, or any other kind of computing device. In the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1 , the communication device  1  may also include a global position system (GPS)  10 , a camera module  12 , a recorder  14 , and a display  16 . The GPS  10  may locate a position of the communication device  1 . The camera module  12  may capture a photo or a video, for example. The recorder  14  may record voice signals received by a microphone of the communication device  1 . The display  16  may display or output visible data, such as messages, images, webpages, for example. 
     The communication device  1  may further include a processor  18  and a storage system  19 . The processor  18  executes one or more computerized operations of the communication device  1  and other applications, to provide functions of the communication device  1 . The storage system  19  stores one or more programs, such as programs of an operating system, other applications of the communication device  1 , and various kinds of data, such as messages, the account information of the Internet bank account, for example. In one embodiment, the storage system  19  may be a memory of the communication device  1  or an external storage card, such as a memory stick, a subscriber identification module (SIM) card, a smart media card, a compact flash card, or any other type of memory card. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the communication device  1  may communicate with the bank server  4  through a plurality of base stations  3 . The base stations  3  may be wireless base stations or mobile telephone base stations, for example. The user of the communication device  1  may access the bank server  4  to browse or manage the account information of an Internet bank account through the plurality of base stations  4 . 
     The receiving device of the emergency dispatchers (e.g, the police) may be a web server providing an alarm platform of the police. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of the communication device  1  including the alarm system  2 . In one embodiment, the alarm system  2  includes a setting module  20 , an identifying module  22 , an activating module  24 , an alarming module  26 , an account processing module  28 , and a recording module  29 . The modules  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ,  28 , and  29  may comprise one or more computerized operations to be executed by the processor  18  to perform one or more operations of the communication device  1 . Details of these operations will be provided below. 
     The setting module  20  is operable to set an alarm password and an access password corresponding to an Internet bank account of a user of the communication device  1 . The access password may be inputted by a user to perform regular Internet banking transactions. The alarm password may be inputted by a user to activate/invoke an alarm function when an abnormal Internet banking transaction occurs. For example, if the user is abducted by criminals and forced to transfer money from his/her Internet bank account, the alarm password may be inputted by the user. 
     Communication between the communication device  1  and a website of an Internet bank of the Internet bank account is established. In one embodiment, the website of the Internet bank of the Internet bank account may be provided by the bank server  4 . The identifying module  22  accesses the website of the Internet bank through the established communication. The identifying module  22  receives information of the Internet bank account (e.g., account numbers) and an input password in response to user input through the communication device  1 , and determines if the input password is the alarm password or the access password. 
     If the input password is the alarm password, the activating module  24  generates an activation command and the access password. In one embodiment, the activation command may be used to obtain current crisis information. In one embodiment, the activation command is executed to activate the GPS  10  to locate a current position of the communication device  1 , activate the camera module  12  to capture a photo or a video, and/or activate the recorder  14  to record voice signals through the microphone of the communication device  1 . The current crisis information may include, but are not limited to, location information of the communication device  1 , captured photos/videos, and recorded voice signals. For example, the captured photos/videos and the recorded voice signals may record portrait information, voice information and dialogs to be evidences of a crime. 
     A photoflash lamp of the camera module  12  may be preset to be closed. Duration time of the captured video and/or the recorded voice signals may be preset by the setting module  20 . The duration time may be 10 seconds, for example. 
     The activating module  24  acquires the location information of the communication device  1  from the GPS  10 , acquires the captured photo/video, and/or the recorded voice signals. The location information may include longitude, latitude, and altitude of the position of the communication device  1 . The setting module  20  may be used to set an activation interval (e.g., 3 seconds) to activate the GPS  10 , the camera module  12 , and/or the recorder  14  periodically, so as to acquire new/updated current crisis information. Further, the setting module  20  may be used to set an alarm interval (e.g., 3 seconds) to send the alarm message to the receiving device of the one or more emergency dispatchers, such as the police authorities. 
     The alarming module  26  generates an alarm message including the current crisis information. The alarming module  26  further sends the alarm message to the receiving device of the one or more emergency dispatchers. In one embodiment, the alarm message is a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message, for example. The police may track down the communication device  1  to perform a rescue according to the current crisis information in the alarm message. 
     In one embodiment, the account processing module  28  sends the access password generated by the activating module  24 , from the communication device  1  to the website of the Internet bank, and logs into the Internet bank account. In another embodiment, for the purpose of securing the Internet bank account, the setting module  20  may be further used to set a restricted amount of the Internet bank account. The account processing module  28  receives a webpage presenting an actual amount of the Internet bank account from the website of the Internet bank, and compares the actual amount with the restricted amount. 
     If the actual amount is larger than the restricted amount, the account processing module  28  parses the received webpage by replacing the actual amount with the restricted amount, and displays the parsed webpage on the display  16 . If the actual amount is less than the restricted amount, the account processing module  28  displays the received webpage on the display  16  directly. 
     The account processing module  28  may be further operable to manage the Internet bank account in response to user actions through the communication device  1 . Manage of the Internet bank account may include querying account amount of the Internet bank account, transferring money of the Internet bank account, and on-line trading, for example. 
     The setting module  20  may be further operable to set a termination command to terminate the alarm system  2 , that is, to terminate sending the alarm message to the platform of the police. For example, if the user is released, the termination command may be invoked. In one embodiment, the termination command may be invoked by pressing a preset hotkey or by inputting a character string, which includes numbers, alphabets, and/or symbols. 
     The activating module  24  and the account processing module  28  performs corresponding functions at the same time when the alarm password is received. 
     If the identifying module  22  identifies that the input password is the access password (refer to paragraph [0018]), the account processing module  28  sends the access password from the communication device  1  to the website of the Internet bank, and logs into the Internet bank account. The account processing module  28  also receives a webpage presenting an actual amount of the Internet bank account from the website of the Internet bank, and displays the received webpage on the display  16 . As mentioned above, the account processing module  28  may be further operable to manage the Internet bank account in response to the user actions through the communication device  1 . 
     The recording module  29  records all actions on the Internet bank account, and generates an action log including the recorded actions. In one embodiment, the actions may include viewing the account information, transferring the money of the Internet bank account, for example. The recording module  29  further stores the action log into the storage system  19 . 
       FIG. 3-1  and  FIG. 3-2  are flowcharts of one embodiment of a method for securing an Internet bank account using the communication device  1  of  FIG. 2 . Depending on the embodiment, additional blocks may be added, others removed, and the ordering of the blocks may be replaced. 
     In block S 2 , the setting module  20  sets an alarm password and an access password corresponding to an Internet bank account of a user of the communication device  1 , and sets a restricted amount of the Internet bank account. As mentioned above, the access password may be inputted by a user to perform regular Internet banking transactions, and the alarm password may be inputted by a user to activate/invoke an alarm function when an abnormal Internet banking transaction occurs. 
     In block S 4 , the communication between the communication device  1  and a website of an Internet bank provided by the bank server  4  is established. 
     In block S 6 , the identifying module  22  receives information of the Internet bank account (e.g., account numbers) and an input password in response to user input through the communication device  1 . 
     In block S 8 , the identifying module  22  determines if the input password is the alarm password or the access password. If the input password is the access password, the procedure goes to block S 18  directly. 
     If the input password is the alarm password, in block S 10 , the activating module  24  generates an activation command and the access password. 
     In block S 12 , the alarming module  26  sends an alarm message to a receiving device of the one or more emergency dispatchers. Detailed descriptions about the block S 12  are described in  FIG. 4 . 
     In block S 14 , the account processing module  28  logs into the Internet bank account by sending the access password to the website of the Internet bank, and receives account information from the website of the Internet bank. Detailed descriptions about the block S 14  are described in  FIG. 5 . 
     In block S 16 , the recording module  29  records all actions on the Internet bank account, generates an action log including the recorded actions, and stores the action log into the storage system  19 . 
     If the input password is the access password, in block S 18 , the account processing module  28  sends the access password from the communication device  1  to the website of the Internet bank, and logs into the Internet bank account. 
     In block S 20 , the account processing module  28  receives a webpage presenting an actual amount of the Internet bank account from the website of the Internet bank. 
     In block S 22 , the account processing module  28  displays the received webpage on the display  16 . 
     In block S 24 , the account processing module  28  manages the Internet bank account in response to the user actions through the communication device  1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart of one embodiment of the block S 12  of  FIG. 3-1 . Depending on the embodiment, additional blocks may be added, others removed, and the ordering of the blocks may be replaced. 
     In block S 30 , the activating module  24  executes the activation command to activate the GPS  10  to locate a position of the communication device  1 , activate the camera module  12  to capture a photo or a video, and/or activate the recorder  14  to record voice signals through the microphone of the communication device  1 . 
     In block S 32 , the activating module  24  acquires location information of the communication device  1  from the GPS  10 , acquires the captured photo or video, and/or the recorded voice signals. 
     In block S 34 , the alarming module  26  generates the alarm message including the location information, the captured photo or video, and/or the recorded voice signals, and sends the alarm message to the receiving device of the one or more emergency dispatchers. 
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart of one embodiment of the block S 14  of  FIG. 3-1 . Depending on the embodiment, additional blocks may be added, others removed, and the ordering of the blocks may be replaced. 
     In block S 40 , the account processing module  28  sends the access password from the communication device  1  to the website of the Internet bank, and logs into the Internet bank account. 
     In block S 42 , the account processing module  28  receives a webpage presenting the actual amount of the Internet bank account from the website of the Internet bank. 
     In block S 44 , the account processing module  28  compares the actual amount with the restricted amount, and determines if the actual amount is larger than the restricted amount. If the actual amount is less than the restricted amount, the procedure goes to block S 50 . 
     If the actual amount is larger than the restricted amount, in block S 46 , the account processing module  28  parses the received webpage by replacing the actual amount with the restricted amount. 
     In block S 48 , the account processing module  28  displays the parsed webpage on the display  16 , and then the procedure goes to block S 52 . 
     If the actual amount is less than the restricted amount, in block S 50 , the account processing module  28  displays the received webpage on the display  16 . 
     In block S 52 , the account processing module  28  manages the Internet bank account in response to user actions through the communication device  1 . As mentioned above, manage of the Internet bank account may include query account amount of the Internet bank account, transfer money of the Internet bank account, on-line trading, for example. 
     Although certain inventive embodiments of the present disclosure have been specifically described, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.