Patent ID: 8316086

Claim:
A system for verifying the identity of a social network member comprising: a user device; and a network entity in electronic communication with the user device, the network entity including a processor and a memory; a profile module stored on the memory; a data module stored on the memory; a verification module stored on the memory, the verification module comprising a request module and a reception module; and a publication module stored on the memory; wherein the profile module is executable by the processor and configured to, upon execution, receive: a plurality of identifying data as multiple items of identifying data relevant to the identity of the social network member; and contact information for a plurality of persons who have knowledge of the identity of the social network member, the plurality of persons who have knowledge of the identity of the social network member being defined as acquaintances, the contact information for acquaintances being defined as acquaintance data; wherein the data module is executable by the processor and configured to, upon execution, store and retrieve the plurality of identifying data and the acquaintance data; wherein the verification module is executable by the processor and configured to, upon execution, assign a numeric accuracy index to each of the plurality of identifying data; wherein the publication module is executable by the processor and configured to, upon execution, selectively publish: at least one of the items of identifying data, the at least one item of identifying data that is published being defined as at least one item of published data; and the respective numeric accuracy index associated with the at least one item of identifying data that is published as the at least one item of published data; wherein the request module is executable by the processor and configured to, upon execution, send at least one verification request for at least one respective item of identifying data to at least one of the acquaintances, the at least one acquaintance receiving the at least one verification request being defined as at least one verifying acquaintance; and wherein the reception module is executable by the processor and configured to, upon execution, receive at least one of a positive indication, a negative indication, and a without knowledge indication from the at least one verifying acquaintance, the positive indication indicating that the item of identifying data in the at least one verification request is accurate, the negative indication indicating that the item of identifying data in the at least one verification request is inaccurate, and the without knowledge indication indicating that the at least one verifying acquaintance is without knowledge of the item of identifying data in the at least one verification request; wherein the publication module publishes the at least one item of identifying data responsive to receipt of a request from an authorized user.