Patent ID: 8423479

Claim:
A method for securely tracking sales leads sold within a lead sales system, the method being carried out by a computer having a processor and system memory, the method comprising: pre-processing lead information by the computer for a lead obtained by a participant of the system; including: grouping together at least two different items of personal lead information of the pre-processed lead information, wherein the personal information is of a person to be contacted to pursue the lead; encrypting the group of personal lead information of the pre-processed lead information with a one-way hash algorithm; assembling the encrypted group of personal lead information together with one or more individually-encrypted items of personal lead information into a message; attaching to the message unencrypted lead information within unencrypted fields thereof; sending, by the computer, the message containing the encrypted lead information and the unencrypted lead information to a lead clearing house server for storage therein; comparing, with a processor of the lead clearing house server, the received encrypted lead information with encrypted leads stored in a system memory of the lead clearing house server, thereby finding a match between the received encrypted lead information and the stored encrypted leads; updating, with the processor, a log related to the encrypted lead information with unencrypted log information associated with the matching encrypted lead information; and selling, with the computer, an unencrypted version of the lead to a lead consumer.