Call screening system and method

A system for screening telephone calls to a subscriber telephone number, comprising:

• at least one database, for maintaining a screening list of telephone numbers assigned to suspect callers and one or more rules defining when modify a screening value to be assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number on the screening list, and for maintaining, in association with each of the plurality of subscribers, a blacklist of caller's assigned telephone number which are blocked and a whitelist of caller's assigned telephone numbers which are not blocked;
• and
• a data processing device, for receiving data relating to suspect callers, wherein some of the data is received from a plurality of subscribers, some of the data is received from, a service provider, a system administrator or a combination thereof, and some of the data is received from the blacklists and whitelists associated with the plurality of subscribers, and applying the one or more rules to the data, and to modifying the screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number based on the application of the one or more rules to the data;
• and
• screening a call from the caller's assigned telephone number to one of the subscribers in accordance with one or more call screening rules, based on the screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, and a comparison of the screen value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number and a subscriber tolerance level.

A computer program product embodied on a tangible medium for operation on telecommunications hardware for carrying out a method of screening telephone calls, the program product operative to carry out the steps of:

• a. maintaining on memory in the telecommunications hardware, a screening list of telephone numbers assigned to suspect callers;
• b. storing on memory in the telecommunications hardware, one or more rules defining when to modify a screening value to be assigned to the caller's telephone number on the screening list,
• c. assigning the caller's assigned telephone number to a blocked caller list or to a list of acceptable callers based on input by a subscriber to the telecommunications hardware;
• d. receiving data relating to suspect callers, wherein some of the data is received from a plurality of subscribers, wherein some of the data is received from a service provider, a system administrator or a combination thereof, and wherein some of the data is received from the blacklists and whitelists associated with the plurality of subscribers;
• e. applying the one or more rules to the data;
• f. adding to or removing from the screening list the caller's assigned telephone number, or modifying the screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, or both, based on the application of the one or more rules to the data;
• and
• g. screening a call from the caller's assigned telephone number to one of the subscribers in accordance with one or more call screening rules based on the caller's assigned telephone number being in the screening list or on the screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, and a subscriber tolerance level based on the screening value.

A method of screening telephone calls, comprising the steps of:

• a. maintaining a common screening list of telephone numbers assigned to suspect callers;
• b. storing one or more rules defining when a caller's assigned telephone number will be added to or removed from the common screening list;
• or and modifying a screening value to be assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number on the screening list, or both;
• c. receiving data relating to suspect callers, wherein some or all of the data is received from a plurality of subscribers, a service provider, a system administrator or a combination thereof and wherein the data is also related to a suspect callers' interaction with plural subscribers of the plurality of subscribers;
• d. applying the one or more rules to the data;
• e. adding to or removing from the common screening list the caller's assigned telephone number, or and modifying the screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, or both, based on the application of the one or more rules to the data;
• and
• f. screening a call from the caller's assigned telephone number to one of the plurality of subscribers in accordance with one or more call screening rules based on the caller's assigned telephone number being in the common screening list or and on the screening value assigned to the caller's assigned telephone number, or both
• wherein the common screening list is the same for the plurality of subscribers.