Systems and methods of user authentication for data services

#Identity theft is a crime whereby criminals impersonate individuals, usually for financial gain. In today's society, one needs to reveal information (e.g., social security number, signature, name, address, phone number, cell number or even banking and credit card information) about oneself. If a thief is able to access this personal information, she can use it to commit fraud.

#Using a person's personal information, a malicious person could do any number of things, like apply for loans or new credit card accounts. A thief could use counterfeit checks and debit cards or authorize electronic transfers in your name and wipe out funds in a bank account.

#Identity theft can also go beyond a monetary impact. A thief can use one's information to obtain a driver's license or other documentation that would display their photo, but the authentic user's name and information. With these documents thieves could obtain a job and file fraudulent income tax returns, apply for travel documents, file insurance claims, or even provide another person's name and mailing address to police and other authorities if involved in other criminal activities.

#FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a system of user authentication for data services and a process flow illustrating a method for using the system according to embodiments of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a system and a process flow illustrating a method for processing an authentication request message according to embodiments of the present invention.

#FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a system and a process flow illustrating a method for processing a response to the authentication request message according to embodiments of the present invention.

#Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods of user authentication for data services using an authentication system. The data services may include accessing a tax return at the IRS, accessing or completing a student loan application, accessing a credit report, etc. User authentication data is collected by a data provider and provided to a server computer, and user device data is collected by the server computer after the user device accesses a resource identifier (e.g., a URL) associated with the server computer. The user authentication data and/or user device data is analyzed and a risk score is generated.

#Before discussing specific embodiments and examples, some descriptions of terms used herein are provided below.

#“Authentication” may be a process of confirming that an entity (e.g., a user, a device, etc.) is who or what it claims to be.