US 12,423,403 B1Granted

Preventing spam communications

AssigneeUipco, LLC

InventorsEdward Manuel Alonzo, III, Robert Lee Black, Sydney Ann Conrad-Cook, Madhusudhana Rao Abburi, Janelle Denice Dziuk, Carlos J P Chavez

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Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for preventing spam communications. Implementations can implement an access control list that a communicator (e.g., a user device sending a text message, making a phone call, etc.) must be on in order to complete the communication with a recipient. If they are not on the access control list, the communicator can be prevented from sending the communication to the recipient, redirected to a registration process, or the communication can be tagged with an unverified status flag. In some implementations, the access control list can include a recipient's contacts, contacts of the recipient's contacts, authenticated entities (e.g., users and/or companies), previously verified entities, etc. In some implementations, a recipient can give out a temporary extension that a communicator can enter to complete communications with the recipient for a certain amount of time or for a certain number of uses.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for preventing spam communications, the method comprising:

generating a registry of trusted devices, the trusted devices being associated with authenticated entities;
intercepting a first request for telephone communication with a receiving device from a first sending device;
determining that an identifier of the first sending device is not included on the registry of trusted devices;
in response to determining that the identifier of the first sending device is not included on the registry of trusted devices, redirecting the first sending device to a registration process which includes:
interrogating an installed application dataset, specifying identifiers of applications installed on the receiving device, to determine that an application provided by an entity, associated with the identifier of the first sending device, is installed on the receiving device;
and
in response to the determining that the application provided by the entity is installed on the receiving device, determining that the first sending device is associated with a first authentic entity;
in response to determining that the first sending device is associated with the first authentic entity, transmitting the first request for telephone communication to the receiving device;
intercepting a second request for telephone communication with the receiving device from a second sending device;
determining that an identifier of the second sending device is not included on the registry of trusted devices;
in response to determining that the identifier of the second sending device is not included on the registry of trusted devices, redirecting the second sending device to the registration process;
determining, via the registration process, that the second sending device is not associated with a second authentic entity;
and
in response to determining that the second sending device is not associated with the second authentic entity:
facilitating presentation of an unverified status flag on the receiving device and transmitting the second request for telephone communication to the receiving device;
or
blocking the second request for telephone communication with the receiving device.

14 more elements

A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a process for preventing spam communications, the process comprising:

intercepting a first request for communication with a receiving device from a first sending device;
determining that an identifier of the first sending device is not included on a registry of trusted devices;
in response to determining that the identifier of the first sending device is not included on the registry of trusted devices, redirecting the first sending device to a registration process which includes:
interrogating an installed application dataset, specifying identifiers of applications installed on the receiving device, to determine that an application provided by an entity, associated with the identifier of the first sending device, is installed on the receiving device;
and
in response to the determining that the application provided by the entity is installed on the receiving device, determining that the first sending device is associated with a first authentic entity;
in response to determining that the first sending device is associated with the first authentic entity, transmitting the first request for communication to the receiving device;
intercepting a second request for communication with the receiving device from a second sending device;
determining that an identifier of the second sending device is not included on the registry of trusted devices;
in response to determining that the identifier of the second sending device is not included on the registry of trusted devices, redirecting the second sending device to the registration process;
determining, via the registration process, that the second sending device is not associated with a second authentic entity;
and
in response to determining that the second sending device is not associated with the second authentic entity:
facilitating presentation of an unverified status flag on the receiving device and transmitting the second request for communication to the receiving device;
or
blocking the second request for communication with the receiving device.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/173,436Filed 23 Feb 2023
Granted: 23 Sep 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G06F 21/44
Authentication, i.e. establishing the identity or authorisation of security principals: program or device authentication
H04M 3/42034
Calling or Called party identification service: calling party identification service
G06F 2221/2133
Indexing scheme relating to G06F21/00 and subgroups addressing additional information or applications relating to security arrangements for…:…
H04M 2203/6072
Related to security aspects in telephonic communication systems: authentication using challenger response