Patent ID: 8443049

Claim:
A method for processing an incoming message for delivery to a recipient, the message originating from a source, comprising the steps of: a) determining a trust score for said incoming message based on a messaging pattern of messages from the source, the messaging pattern comprising data relating to the following: (1) a number of messages sent by the source, (2) a number of messages received by the source, (3) where the message is a phone call an average length of phone calls made by the source, (4) where the message is a phone call an average length of phone calls received by the source, (5) where the message is an electronic message a ratio of electronic messages sent by the source to electronic messages received by the source; b) obtaining at least one threshold trust score based on a type of the incoming message, said threshold trust score being associated with a message processing instruction; and c) performing processing of said incoming message in accordance with said trust score, said threshold trust score and said associated message processing instruction.