System and Method for Authenticating Called Parties of Individuals Within a Controlled Environment

Abstract

A method and system are described for enhancing the security of calls made by a member of a controlled environment to an outside party, particularly when the outside party communicates via a cellular phone. An application is provided for the cellular device, which must communicate and register with a calling platform of the controlled environment. Certain elements of personal verification data are obtained by the user of the cellular device and stored at the calling platform for later reference. Calls from the inmate to the cellular device cause the calling platform to issue a notification to the user via the application. The user verifies his/her identity using the application, after which the call can be connected. As a further security measure, certain conditions can be required and periodically checked during the call to ensure the user remains verified.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A call processing platform for processing telecommunications of a controlled environment, comprising:
 a registration module configured to receive device identification of an external device and personal verification information of a user of the external device via an application running on the external device, and configured to register the external device by storing the personal verification information in association with the device identification;   a call processing module configured to process a call placed by a member of the controlled environment; and   a notification module configured to communicate with the application.   
     
     
         2 . The call processing platform of  claim 1 , wherein the personal verification information includes biometric information of the user and multi-character PIN. 
     
     
         3 . The call processing platform of  claim 1 , wherein the call processing module is configured to determine whether the number dialed by the member is associated with a select group, and
 wherein the call processing module is configured to determine, if the number is associated with a wireless communication device, whether the number is registered with the call processing platform.   
     
     
         4 . The call processing platform of  claim 3 , wherein the notification module is configured to transmit a notification message to the external device that is viewable using the application and that requests acceptance or rejection of the call. 
     
     
         5 . The call processing platform of  claim 4 , wherein the notification message includes an identification of the member. 
     
     
         6 . The call processing platform of  claim 4 , wherein the call processing module is configured to connect the call to the external device after receiving an acceptance notification from the external device, and is configured to terminate the call after receiving a rejection notification from the external device. 
     
     
         7 . The call processing platform of  claim 3 , wherein the select group is cellular telephones. 
     
     
         8 . A communication device, comprising:
 an application module configured to collect and provide personal verification information of a user to a calling platform, the application module including:
 a user verification module configured to receive the personal verification information from the user, and transmit the personal verification together with a device identification to the calling platform for registration; and 
 a notification processing module configured to process subsequent notifications received from the calling platform; 
   a user interface module configured to receive and process user inputs; and   one or more information acquisition devices configured to acquire at least a portion of the personal verification information.   
     
     
         9 . The communication device of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more information acquisition devices includes a biometric module configured to receive biometric information of the user. 
     
     
         10 . The communication device of  claim 8 , wherein a subsequent notification received from the calling platform includes a call request notification, and
 wherein the application module is configured to prompt, after receiving the call request notification, for acceptance or rejection of the incoming call by the user.   
     
     
         11 . The communication device of  claim 10 , wherein the application module is configured to prompt the user whether to block future calls from the member after rejection of the call by the user. 
     
     
         12 . The communication device of  claim 11 , wherein the application module is configured to receive a block response from the user in response to the prompt as to whether to block future calls from the member, and
 wherein the notification module is configured to transmit a “call rejected” notification to the calling platform that includes the block response.   
     
     
         13 . The communication device of  claim 10 , wherein the application module further includes a user authentication module configured to authenticate the user after acceptance of the incoming call based on user identification information entered by the user after accepting the call. 
     
     
         14 . The communication device of  claim 13 , wherein the notification processing module is configured to transmit a “call accepted” notification to the calling platform that includes the user identification information. 
     
     
         15 . A method of processing communications between a calling platform and an external device, the method comprising:
 the calling platform:
 receiving a call attempt to the external device by a calling party; 
 determining that a number associated with the external device is not blocked; 
 determining that the number is part of a select group of numbers; 
 after determining that the number is part of the select group of numbers, determining whether the number is registered; and 
 transmitting a registration notification or a call notification to the external device depending on the determination as to whether the number is registered. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 in response to the call notification, the external device:
 prompting a user to accept or reject the call; 
 processing a call acceptance or a call rejection based on the user's response to the prompting; and 
 transmitting an accept or reject notification to the calling platform based on the user's response to the prompting and the processing. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the processing the call acceptance includes:
 prompting the user to enter personal identification information;   authenticating the user based on the entered personal identification information;   prompting the user to enter new personal identification information a predetermined number of times following failures of the authentication; and   transmitting the accept notification to the calling platform after successful authentication, the accept notification including the personal identification information entered by the user.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the processing the call rejection includes:
 prompting the user as to whether future calls from the calling party should be blocked;   transmitting the reject notification to the calling platform that includes a block flag set based on the user's response regarding whether future calls from the calling party should be blocked.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 after receiving the reject notification, the calling platform:
 terminating the call; and 
 adding a device identification of the external device to a block list associated with the calling party based on a block flag included within the reject notification; and 
   after receiving the accept notification, the calling platform connecting the call of the calling party to the external device.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 after receiving the accept notification, the calling platform transmitting a conditions notification to the external device identifying at least one parameter that must be satisfied to avoid disruption of the call; and   after the call has been connected, the external device monitoring at predetermined intervals whether the parameter is satisfied and disrupting the call when the parameter is not satisfied.