Method and system to verify the identity of a user

Abstract

A method and system to verify the identity of a user are described. The system may include a communications module to receive a telephone number and a plurality of digits; an address detector to obtain a geographical address associated with a user, based on the telephone number; and a business rules engine to determine whether the plurality of digits correspond to at least a portion of the social security number of the user, utilizing the obtained geographical address and the received plurality of digits.

1 . A method to verify the identity of a user, the method comprising:
 receiving a telephone number and a plurality of digits;   obtaining a geographical address associated with a user, based on the telephone number; and   utilizing the obtained geographical address and the received plurality of digits to determine whether the plurality of digits correspond to at least a portion of the social security number of the user.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining of whether the plurality of digits correspond to the social security number of the user comprises:
 providing the obtained geographical address and the received plurality of digits to a personal data matching service; and   receiving an authentication response based on a determination of whether the plurality of digits correspond to the at least a portion of the social security number of the user.   
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the personal data matching service is a third party service. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the providing of the obtained geographical address and the received plurality of digits to the personal data matching service comprises initiating a network communication with the personal data matching service. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the obtaining of the geographical address associated with a user comprises:
 providing the telephone number to a geographical address service; and   receiving the geographical address, the geographical address being associated with the telephone number.   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the providing of the telephone number to the geographical address service comprises initiating a network communication with the geographical address service. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the social security number is the last four digits of the social security number. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining whether the plurality of digits correspond to the at least a portion of the social security number of the user comprises:
 obtaining an identification record utilizing the obtained geographical address, the identification record including a reference social security number;   comparing the at least a portion of the reference social security number with the plurality of digits; and   generating a match result based on a result of the comparing.   
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising generating an authentication message based on the match result. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the generating of the authentication message comprises generating an authentication message indicative of a positive authentication, the positive authentication being based on a partial match of the at least a portion of the reference social security number with the plurality of digits. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9 , the generating of the authentication message comprises generating an authentication message indicative of a positive authentication, the positive authentication being based on an exact match of the at least a portion of the reference social security number with the plurality of digits. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising automatically initiating an alternative identity verification procedure in response to the generating of the authentication message, the authentication message being indicative of a failed authentication. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the alternative identity verification procedure comprises initiating a telephone call to the telephone number. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising obtaining validation of the telephone number as an acceptable payment method to be utilized by the user. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the telephone number is derived from a billing telephone number associated with the user. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the telephone number is derived from an automatic number identification (ANI) associated with the user. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising generating an authentication response based on the determination of whether the plurality of digits correspond to the at least a portion of the social security number of the user. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the receiving of the telephone number and the plurality of digits is associated with a request to authenticate the user, the method further comprising communicating the authentication response to an originator of the request. 
   
   
       19 . A method to verify the identity of a user, the method comprising:
 receiving a billing telephone number and a plurality of digits;   receiving a geographical address associated with a user; and   utilizing the geographical address and the plurality of digits to determine whether the plurality of digits correspond to the last four digits of the social security number of the user.   
   
   
       20 . An identity verification system, the system comprising:
 a communications module to receive a telephone number and a plurality of digits;   an address detector to obtain a geographical address associated with a user, based on the telephone number; and   a business rules engine to determine whether the plurality of digits correspond to at least a portion of the social security number of the user, utilizing the obtained geographical address and the received plurality of digits.