Patent ID: 7240363

Claim:
A method of obstructing identity crimes, the method comprising: obtaining at a verification system a list of at least two identity verifiers, each identity verifier to be used for no more than one transaction; linking at the verification system the list of identity verifiers to at least one numerical identifier associated with a registered user, the registered user selected from the group consisting of persons and entities; providing the list of identity verifiers from the verification system to the registered user; enabling the registered user to provide security messages to the verification system to be associated with the identity verifiers, each security message pertaining to an intended transaction; receiving at the verification system a numerical identifier from a requesting party, the requesting party having obtained the numerical identifier from a transaction initiator claiming to be associated with the numerical identifier; receiving at the verification system an identity verifier from the requesting party, the requesting party having obtained the identity verifier from the transaction initiator claiming to be associated with the numerical identifier; determining at the verification system whether the received identity verifier is within the list of identity verifiers linked to the received numerical identifier; communicating information from the verification system to the requesting party indicating whether the received identity verifier is within the list of identity verifiers linked to the received numerical identifier; and sending from the verification system to the requesting party any security message associated with the received identity verifier to enable the requesting party to compare the security message with a transaction being conducted by the transaction initiator.