Patent ID: 8151328

Claim:
One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of verifying a user's identity by leveraging a communications network's network-authentication procedures upon the user attempting to access secure information, the method comprising: receiving at the communications network a request from a subscriber that maintains a website, wherein the request is communicated by the subscriber upon the user attempting to access a secured portion of the website, the secured portion of the website potentially providing the user online access to the secure information, wherein the website is configured to accept an input of a personal identifier from the user while attempting to access the secure information, and wherein the subscriber is configured to communicate the personal identifier to the communications network along with the request to verify the user; upon receiving the request and recognizing the user via the personal identifier, employing resources at the communication network to validate a set of security credentials associated with the user, wherein validating includes performing a set of network-authentication procedures used by the communications network to verify the user's identity by authenticating the user's mobile device on the communications network, wherein the network-authentication procedures comprise: (a) accessing a dial-in number that is pre-established in a profile associated with the subscriber, wherein the dial-in number residing within the profile is assigned to the subscriber for use in verifying the user; (b) conveying the dial-in number to the user's mobile device for entry therein; and (c) upon entry of the conveyed dial-in number into the mobile device and placement of a call from the mobile device to the dial-in number, receiving the call from the mobile device at the communications network; and upon completing the call at the communications network, communicating to the subscriber that the network-authentication procedures are satisfied, thereby granting the user access to the secured portion of the website.