Ulllted States Patent [19] [11] Patent Number: 6,018,570

Transcription

1 US A Ulllted States Patent [19] [11] Patent Number: 6,018,570 Matison [45] Date of Patent: Jan. 25, 2000 [54] METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR 4,764,919 8/1988 Hunter et a /259 REGULATING THE REMOTE ORDERING, 4,766,604 8/1988 Axberg /197 AUTHORIZATION ACCESS AND CONTROL 5,003,595 3/1991 Collins et al.. 379/198 5,365,580 11/1994 Morisaki /189 ggsgaggggglygggggglggfme 5,878,127 3/1999 Fleischer, e, III /196 [75] Inventor: Gary G- Matison, Norwalk, Conn 5,943,414 8/1999 McIntee et al /220 [73] Assignee: NyneX Science and Technology Inc., Primary EXamin r SCOtt Wolinsky White Plains, NY, Assistant Examiner Benny Q. Tieu Attorney, Agent, or Firm Straub & Pokotylo; John C. [21] App1.No.: 08/854,618 Pokotylo [22] Filed: May 12, 1997 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl H04M 3/42; H04M 17/00; A method for use in an environment having a service H04M 11/00 provider, a subscribed terminal, and a remote terminal, for [52] US. Cl /201; 379/196; 379/154; activating a Service for the Subscribed terminal The method 379N312; 379/93_03 processes an order from a terminal and processes an autho [58] Field of Search 379/ rization request from a terminal. However, the service order is activated only upon an authorization request from the b , b3 12 subscribed terminal. The subscribed terminal may be a i ' telephone in Which case a caller ID value provided by a [56] References Cited central of?ce switch serving the requesting terminal is used U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS to determine Whether a requesting telephone is the sub scribed telephone 4,313,035 1/1982 Jordan et al /211 4,531,023 7/1985 Levine / Claims, 18 Drawing Sheets suascmaen TERMWAL 108a 42 LOCAL NETWORK /11 NETWOR K \NTELLIGENT PERiPHERAL 10A THANSMH HNG TERMTNAL [u CAF'YURE AND USER \NTERFACE nntt WTERAC E APPLlCATiON PROCESSOR lnput/output SESSlON n s] \NTERFACE no, u * AFPUCATi PROCESSW ( 1g [NTELUGENT PERiPHERAL Q RROGRRM STORAGE W CDRRRQLSCRRQ WRUVOTCERROMRRS ] DATA STORAGE UNiT Ti senvlce APPLiCATiON PRocEssoWs) INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INTELLIGENT s W F'ERIPH 1 8 E R? on W T PCMR 12 PROCESS k INPUT/OUT _ RESRYJ ZJEEURR 6 Mamas - i '4 ' [02 J \ \NTELLIGENT PERiPHERAL 154 \152 musk [n CAPTURE AND USER INTERFACE UNiY

2 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 1 0f 18 6,018,570 SUBSCRIBED 176 TERMINAL 13 LOCAL N ETWORK 1 08a TERMINAL 1_7_4 178 FIGURE 1a PUBLIC INTERNETWORK PRIVATE INTERNETWORK 146' // INTERACTIVE SESSION UNIT(S) 1E LOCAL NETWORK SERVING INTELLIGENT PERIPHERAL 104' 150' I88 154' ORDER PROCESSING UNIT II 1:415 II TRANSMITTING TERMINAL ID CAPTURE AND USER INTERFACE UNIT V II V II APPLICATION PROCESSOR INPUT/OUTPUT INTERFACE M II USER RECORD DATABASE M INTELLIGENT PERIPHERAL LOCAL AREA NETWORK APPLICATION PROCESSING(S)

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4 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 3 0f 18 6,018,570 NON \ mmwd NEW-0E mm

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7 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 6 0f 18 6,018,570 LOCAL SWITCH USER (AT CENTRAL OFFICE SERVING USER'S ANY SWITCH SERVING INTELLIGENT SUBSCRIBED TERMINAL) USER PERIPHERAL TERMINAL OFF HOOK.3_QZ 308 NPA-NXX-XXXX 3516 REQUEST TO SEIZE LINE ACKNOWLEDGE llq REQUEST DIREQTORY NUMBER $.12 UsER DIRECTOR NUMBER 1.11 YX'T'YYTZY'TT - /\ ZY REQUEST PIN m 1 USER PIN gala REQUEST MAIN MENU SELECTION 3_2Q MAIN MENU SELECTION 122 HOLD LINE UNTIL CHANGES COMPLETE 25 I I I PACKET is CHANGES TO CONFIRMATION "THANK YOU" MESSAGE ON_HQOK Q32 DISCONNECT 3% l l I FIGURE 3a

8 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 7 0f 18 6,018,570 USER LOCAL CENTRAL (AT ANY OFFICE SWITCH CALLER ID STATION SERVING STATION INTELLIGENT CAPTURE SET) SET PERIPHERAL DEVICE OFF HOOK I/ I CALLER ID NUMBER 344 / f l_ REQUEST TO SEIZE LINE l< ACKNOWLEDGE l CALLER ID INFORMATION 0 L J REQUEST (VOICE PROMP) FOR CALLABILITY NUMBER 3i6_ 3i EIiTERED NUMBER (DTMF) I 3% I CALLABILITY No. AND CALLER ID IF MATCH: THANK YOU, INFORMATION COMPLETE IF NO MATCH: SORRY, YOU MUST CALL FROM CALLABILITY SUBSCRIBED 360 STATION SET I FIGURE 3b

9 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 8 0f 18 6,018,570 USER LOCAL CENTRAL (AT ANY OFFICE SWITCH STATION SERVING STATION INTELLIGENT SET) SET PERIPHERAL 7\_L ZT OFF HOOK %> 378 DIAL TONE 374 / IP REQUEST TO SEIZE LINE 382 il 384 I CALLER ID INFORM/WOW REQUEST CALLABILITY NUMBER 386 ENTERED NUMBER 388 I I IF MATCH: THANKS, INFORMATION COMPLETE IF NO MATCH: SORRY, CALL FROM CALLABILITY 390 SUBSCRIBED STATION SET FIGURE 3c

10 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 9 0f 18 6,018,570 (If/53v E$CFI$ECSEIITFEAL ' CALLER ) : T H CAPTURE STATION SERVING STATION 'NTELL'GENT DEVICE SET) SET PERIPHERAL Imam IP SERVING SW'TC REQUEST To SEIZE LINE Q2 I 311 I REQUEST (VOICE PROMPT) FOR CALLABILITY NUMBER [ 315 I l I I I ENTER NUMBER (DTMF) _3_ _3 I ' CHECK CONF. USER 317 E3 : NOT I 319 CONF. m I II I" l REQUEST TO RE-ROUTE CAL?, CALLER ID I 329 IF MATCH: REQUEST TO RE-ROUTE CALL TO IP KC L IF NO MATCH: SORRY. CALL FROM CALLABILITY SUBSCRIBED STATION SET ' FIGURE 3d 32 I 7 ' I

11 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 10 0f 18 AUTHORIZED ACTIVATION (PRE-AUTHORIZATION) PROCESS 400 6,018, \ ACCEPT INCOMING CALL GET CALLER ID OF INCOMING CALL I \ GET NUMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH INACTIVATED ORDERS I H THE CALLER ID NUMBER MATCH ANY NUMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH INACTIVATED ORDERS SAVE DETAILS OF ACTIVATION CALL AS PRE-AUTHORIZED DATA 412 ACTIVATE THE INACTIVATED ORDER ASSOCIATED WITH THE MATCHING NUMBER 414 FIGURE 4a

12 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 11 0f 18 6,018,570 AUTHORIZED ACTIVATION (PRE-AUTHORIZATION) PROCESS 400' 402' x ACCEPT INCOMING AUTHORIZATION (PRE-AUTHORIZATION) REQUEST GET TERMINAL ID OF INCOMING REQUEST 404' 406 I GET TERMINAL IDs ASSOCIATED WITH INACTIVATED ORDERS 408' DOES THE ID OF HE REQUESTIN TERMAINAL MATCH ANY TERMINAL IDs ASSOCIATED WITH INACTIVATED ORDERS 410' \ SAVE DETAILS OF ACTIVATION REQUEST AS PRE-AUTHORIZED DATA 412' ACTIVATE THE INACTIVATED ORDER ASSOCIATED WITH THE MATCHING TERMINAL ID 414 FIGURE 4b

13 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 12 0f 18 6,018,570 ORDER RECEPTION PROCESS ACCEPT ORDER INFORMATION FIGU RE GET stored, PRE-AUTHORIZED DATA 50s 510 HAS PROCESS THE ORDER Y s REQUESTED ORDER BEEN E (STORE REQUESTED PRE-AUTHORIZED ORDER AS AN? ACTIVATED ORDER 508 J STORE ORDER INFORMATION AS AN INACTIVATED ORDER 512

14 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 13 0f 18 6,018,570 mono omw wmd?e

15 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 14 0f 18 6,018,570 an MMDQE Non % HEDGE an New m3. P g

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17 U.S. Patent Jan. 25, 2000 Sheet 16 0f 18 6,018,570 FIGURE 9a Prompt Prompt Name Prompt No. 1 welcome Welcome to CallAbility Feature Access. 2 enterdn Please enter the area code and telephone number you subscribe to. 3 entcancl Entry canceled. 4 inuse We are sorry, the number you entered is currently in use. 5 nsubsry We are sorry but you are not listed as a subscriber. Please contact your local telephone office for further information. 6 wrngcode The number is incorrect. 7 enterpin Please enter your password. 8 badcode The password is incorrect. 9 npinsry We are sorry, the number you entered does not match our records. Please contact your business office for further information. 10 daring Your don't answer ring count is cfvmm For call forwarding features, press 1. l2 cfblmm For busy line features, press 2. l3 vfymm To learn the status of your features, press 4. l4 cfdamm For don't answer features or to change the number of rings before forwarding, press pinmm To change your password, press 8. l6 notopt That is not an option. 17 cfvmenu To activate call forwarding, press 1. To deactivate call forwarding, press 2. l8 entrfwdn Please enter the telephone number you wish to forward your calls to, including the area code if it is necessary. 19 ifcorr If this is correct, press 1; if incorrect, press actwait The call forwarding feature is being activated. 21 cfbmenu To activate the busy line feature, press 1. To deactivate the busy line feature, press proc Your request is being processed. 23 dactwait The call forwarding feature is being deactivated.

18 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 17 0f 18 6,018,570 FIGURE 9b 24 cfdmenu To activate the don't answer feature, press 1. To deactivate the don't answer feature, press 2. To change the number of ring counts, press blon Your busy line feature is currently ON. 26 bloff Your busy line feature is currently OFF. 27 daoff Your don't answer feature is currently OFF. 28 fwoff Your don't answer feature is currently OFF. 29 daon Your don't answer feature is currently ON. 30 entrring Please enter the number of times you would like your phone to ring before your call is forwarded. 31 youentr You entered ringcnfm The ring count has been changed. 33 fwon Your call forwarding is currently ON. Your calls are forwarded to bye Thank you for using NYNEX CallAbility Service. Good bye. 35 sorry We are sorry, please try again later. 36 actdone The feature has been activated. 37 deactdone The feature has been deactivated. 38 delay Your request will be processed as soon as possible. We are sorry for the delay. 39 hangup You may hang up now, or addpin To add a secondary password, press delpin 42 chgpin To delete a secondary password, press modcode To change your primary or secondary password, press cnfmnew Please re-enter your new password for confirmation. 45 badcnfm You have not entered the same 4-digit password twice.

19 U.S. Patent Jan. 25,2000 Sheet 18 0f 18 6,018,570 FIGURE adddone Your password has been added. 47 delcode Please enter the secondary password you wish to delete 48 nomtch The password you entered does not match our records. 49 cnfmdel To erase this password, press 1. Otherwise, press moddone Your password has been changed. 51 deldone Your password has been erased. 52 oldcode Please enter the password that you wish to change. 53 retmm... to continue to the main menu, press star. 54 hangon To wait to hear confirmation for your request, please stay on the line. 55 unable We are unable to process your request. Please try again. 56 mainm Main Menu. 57 prevact The feature is already ON. 58 prevdact The feature is already OFF. 59 xcdopt You have exceeded the number of attempts allowed for this option. 60 englsess To continue in English, press spansess To continue in Spanish, press #. 62 ils_err You must hang up your CallAbility subscribed phone in order for this request to be processed. 63 preach You have reached the CallAbility Order Confirmation System. 64 penter Please enter your CallAbility subscribed 10-digit phone number. 65 pword Please enter your subscriber password. 66 pbye Thank you. Your confirmation is complete. Good Eye. 67 pphone Sorry, you must use your CallAbility subscribed phone to confirm your order. Please try again. Good Bye. 68 pwrong Sorry, you must use the password issued to you at order entry time. Good bye.

20 1 METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE REMOTE ORDERING, AUTHORIZATION, ACCESS AND CONTROL OF SERVICES AND SERVICE FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH A TERMINAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION a. Field of the Invention The present invention concerns the regulation of remote ordering, authorization, access and control of services and service features of a terminal. More speci?cally, the present invention concerns the prevention of fraudulent ordering and activation of services for a terminal and the prevention of fraudulent access and control of service features of a terminal, for example, of features of a user s telephone service (e.g., call forwarding parameters) from a remote terminal (e.g., a telephone other than the user s telephone). b. Related Art Regional bell operating companies (or RBOCs ) and other telephone service providers (hereafter collectively referred to as TELCOs ) are continuously adding new services (e.g., caller ID, call Waiting, caller identity delivery on call Waiting, call forwarding, call forward variable, call forward busy line, call forward don t answer, etc.) in an effort to better serve their customers and to better utilize existing infrastructure. At least one TELCO Will now permit subscribed users to access and control certain features of certain of their services remotely, i.e., from a terminal (e.g., a telephone or station set) other than the terminal (e.g., a telephone or station set) With Which the services are associated. (This type of service Will hereafter be referred to as CallAbility Feature Access Service or simply CallAbility. CallAbility is a service mark of NYNEX.) A personal identi?cation number (or PIN ) may be used to help verify that the caller is autho rized to remotely access and control such service features. For example, a CallAbility service subscriber can remotely (e.g., from any touch tone telephone or terminal) access and control certain call forwarding services of their subscribed telephone. Call forwarding services include, inter alia: Call ForWard Variable (or CFV ) service Which allows a subscriber to redirect calls incoming to his or her telephone to a different line; (ii) Call ForWarding Busy Line (or CFBL ) service Which allows a subscriber to automati cally redirect incoming calls to a?xed directory number, such as to a voice mail or to another service provider (e.g., a message desk), When his or her telephone line is busy (e.g., if their telephone is off-hook); and (iii) Call ForWarding Don t AnsWer (or CFDA ) service Which allows a sub scriber to redirect incoming calls to a?xed directory number, such as to a voice mailbox or message desk, after a speci?ed number of rings (e.g., 2 through 7) When their line is idle (e.g., on-hook). A CallAbility service subscriber can, from any touch tone telephone (i.e., a telephone capable of generating dual tone multi-frequency (or DTMF ) signals): activate or deactivate their Call ForWard Busy Line service; (ii) activate or deactivate their Call ForWard Don tanswer service; (iii) reset the number of rings needed before the call is forwarded pursuant to their Call ForWard Don t AnsWer service; (iv) activate or deactivate their Call ForWard Variable service; and/or (v) change the forwarding number of their Call ForWard Variable service. It is possible to permit a user to effect the above listed changes from a rotary telephone. Many TELCO customers enjoy the ability to remotely (i.e., from any terminal or telephone) activate or deactivate 6,018, their Call ForWard Variable service and/or change the for Warding number of their Call ForWard Variable service. Imagine, for example, that a TELCO customer Will leave their of?ce on a business trip during Which they Will stay at two (2) hotels in two (2) cities. Such a customer may, from their own telephone, before they leave, activate their Call ForWard Variable service and input the telephone number of the hotel at the?rst city of their business trip. Thereafter, they can remotely alter the forwarding number of their Call ForWard Variable service to forward calls to the telephone number of the hotel at the second city of their business trip. Unfortunately, however, fraud has made this enhanced Call Ability service less pro?table for the TELCO at this time. If the growth of such fraud is not arrested, offering this enhanced CallAbility service may become impractical. More speci?cally, When CallAbility service has been offered to permit the remote access and control of Call ForWard Variable service features, a fraudulent scheme has been used to pre-subscribe an unsuspecting victim s tele phone to CallAbility. A perpetrator calls, from any telephone, the business of?ce of a TELCO and orders a feature, typically Call ForWard Variable, on the victim s line. The perpetrator Will then also order CallAbility service on the line. At this point, since the CallAbility service permits the remote access and control of Call ForWard Variable service features, the perpetrator could then control the forwarding number of the Call ForWarding Variable service, and set the call forwarding number to a long distance destination. Thereafter, a local call to the victim s telephone Would terminate at the long distance number and the victim Would incur toll charges. Moreover, the perpetrator could activate and deactivate and change the forwarding number of the Call ForWard Variable service to minimize the chances of detection by the victim. In such instances, the victim is unlikely to detect the fraudulent use until after they receive their telephone bill. Although operators at the business office of TELCO often ask for some form of identi?cation (e.g., a drivers license number, a social security number, a number on the customers telephone bill, etc.), such identi?cation is not always secure, not always asked for, and may be difficult to quickly verify. Other fraudulent schemes may also be possible. Thus, if such fraud grows, TELCOs may consider limiting the capa bilities of CallAbility to minimize fraud. HoWever, subscrib ers still constantly desire more capabilities from their com munications services provider. More generally, remote access and control of service features assigned to a terminal may need to be limited if fraud increases, even in instances Where customers desire less limitations on their remote access and control. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the forgoing, a need exists for methods and apparatus for permitting enhanced remote access and control of service features assigned to a terminal, While simulta neously minimizing the possibility of fraud. In an environ ment having a service provider, a subscribed terminal, and a remote terminal, the present invention provides a method for activating a service for the subscribed terminal. The method (a) processes an order, from the subscribed terminal or the remote terminal, for the service for the subscribed terminal, and (b) processes an authorization request from the sub scribed terminal or the remote terminal, for the service ordered such that the service order is activated only upon an authorization request from the subscribed terminal. The step of processing an order may include sub-steps of (i) accepting order information, (ii) retrieving stored pre

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