Patent ID: 7769638

Claim:
A process for determining whether an authorization check is needed for a customer wishing to purchase items online and, if the authorization check is determined to be needed, for performing the authorization check and for maintaining in a verifiable set of records a record that the authorization check was performed, the process comprising: receiving at a host device an identifier associated with an item that a customer is attempting to purchase online; (ii) using the identifier to access with the host device stored data that is indicative of whether an authorization check based on an age threshold is indicated for the item; (iii) repeating acts (i) and (ii) for the items associated with an online purchase; (iv) in response to an authorization check being indicated for an item in the online purchase, calculating with the host device the age of the customer by using birth date identification information obtained from the customer online and storing in the set of records with the host device a record indicative of the online purchase and of the customer's calculated age; and (v) repeating acts (i) through (iv) for at least one other online purchase such that the set of records is built that verifies that each identified need for an authorization check initiated an age calculation.