Patent ID: 8325900

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of identifying that an incoming telephone call originating from a first telephone number and directed to a second telephone number is or potentially is from a source of telephone spam, the method comprising: identifying, by a computing system having a processor and memory, individuals that are within a predetermined distance in a social network graph of a person associated with the second telephone number; accessing a plurality of classifications associated with previous calls from the first telephone number, wherein: the classifications are submitted by the identified individuals, and a classification indicates whether or not a previous call from the first telephone number was from a source of telephone spam; identifying one or more of the plurality of classifications that indicates that a previous call from the first telephone number was from a source of telephone spam; determining a weight for each of the identified one or more classifications, wherein a weight depends on a relative distance in the social network graph between an individual who submitted the classification and the person associated with the second telephone number; combining the determined weights; determining that the combined weights exceed a predetermined threshold; determining that the incoming telephone call is or potentially is from a source of telephone spam based on the determination that the combined weights exceed a threshold; and providing to a telephone associated with the second telephone number an indication that the incoming call is or potentially is from a source of telephone spam based on the determination that the incoming telephone is or potentially is from a source of telephone spam.