U.S. patent application number 14/153959 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-10 for detecting a suspicious transaction within a network-based facility.
This patent application is currently assigned to eBay Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is eBay Inc.. Invention is credited to Christine Cheng, Reed Maltzman, Dheeraj Singh Mohnia, Noel Morin, Ha Nguyen, Isaac Strack, Brenda Won.
Application Number | 20140195368 14/153959 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26939856 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140195368 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cheng; Christine ; et
al. |
July 10, 2014 |
Detecting a suspicious transaction within a network-based
facility
Abstract
Methods and associated computer-readable media to detect
fraudulent activities made over a network-based facility using a
machine are disclosed. Responsive to a first event with respect to
the network-based facility and initiated either under a first user
identity or a first set of user transaction preferences from the
machine which is coupled to the network-based facility via a
network, the method causes a first identifier associated with
either the first user identity or the first set of user transaction
preferences to be stored on the machine. Responsive to a second
event initiated under either a second user identity or a second set
of user transaction preferences, detecting a potentially fraudulent
activity occurs by detecting a lack of correspondence between the
first identifier stored on the machine and a second identifier
associated with either the second user identity or the second set
of user transaction preferences.
Inventors: |
Cheng; Christine;
(Sunnyvale, CA) ; Won; Brenda; (Sunnyvale, CA)
; Mohnia; Dheeraj Singh; (Palo Alto, CA) ; Nguyen;
Ha; (Sunnyvale, CA) ; Maltzman; Reed; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Strack; Isaac; (Saratoga Springs,
UT) ; Morin; Noel; (Hilo, HI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
eBay Inc. |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
eBay Inc.
San Jose
CA
|
Family ID: |
26939856 |
Appl. No.: |
14/153959 |
Filed: |
January 13, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09905046 |
Jul 12, 2001 |
8630938 |
|
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14153959 |
|
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|
|
60249139 |
Nov 15, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/08 20130101;
G06Q 20/382 20130101; G06Q 40/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26.3 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 20/38 20060101
G06Q020/38; G06Q 30/08 20060101 G06Q030/08 |
Claims
1. A method of detecting fraudulent activity, the method
comprising: causing a first identifier associated with a first user
identity to be stored on a machine responsive to a first event with
respect to a network-based facility and initiated under the first
user identity from the machine that is coupled to the network-based
facility via a network; and detecting, one or more processors, a
potentially fraudulent activity by detecting a lack of
correspondence between the first identifier stored on the machine
and a second identifier associated with a second user identity
responsive to a second event with respect to the network-based
facility and initiated under the second user identity from the
machine.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the first
identifier in a shill cookie on the machine.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating the second
identifier associated with the second user identity and storing the
second user identifier in the shill cookie on the machine.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising encoding the shill
cookie.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising encrypting the shill
cookie.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating and storing
a new shill cookie on the machine or adding to an existing shill
cookie stored on the machine each time one of a plurality of
triggering events occurs.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of triggering
events includes at least one type of event selected from a group of
events including registering with the network-based facility,
communicating with the network-based facility to offer a good or
service for sale, communicating with the network-based facility to
purchase a good or service, communicating with the network-based
facility to present feedback regarding a transaction, and updating
a profile maintained by the network-based facility.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the network-based facility is a
network-based transaction facility.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the network-based facility is a
network-based auction facility.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording a set of
transaction preferences for the first user identity.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the set of transaction
preferences include a plurality of items selected from items
including credit card numbers, bidding histories, payment methods,
and shipping addresses.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording the
potentially fraudulent activity at the network-based facility
responsive to the detection of the lack of correspondence between
the first identifier and the second identifier.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a
potential fraudulent activities table having a fraudulent activity
field, a cookie identifier field, a user identifier field, and a
frequency field; recording each of a plurality of potentially
fraudulent activities and corresponding information into the
potential fraudulent activities table; updating the potential
fraudulent activities table on at least a periodic basis; and
providing an updated report of the potential fraudulent activities
table to an investigation team.
14. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a priority
ranking system having a low priority for a low potential fraudulent
activity frequency, a medium priority for a medium potential
fraudulent activity frequency, and a high priority for a high
potential fraudulent activity frequency.
15. A method of detecting fraudulent activity, the method
comprising: generating a first identifier associated with a first
set of transaction preferences, the first identifier to be stored
on a first client machine, the first identifier being generated
responsive to at least one of a plurality of triggering events with
respect to a network-based facility; generating a second identifier
associated with a second set of transaction preferences, the second
identifier to be stored with either the first identifier on the
first client machine or on a second client machine, the second
identifier being generated responsive to at least one of the
plurality of triggering events with respect to the network-based
facility; receiving information stored in one or both of the first
identifier and the second identifier at the network-based facility;
and detecting, using one or more hardware processors, potentially
fraudulent activity by detecting a lack of correspondence between
the first set of transaction preferences and the second set of
transaction preferences.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of triggering
events includes at least one type of event selected from a group of
events including registering with the network-based facility,
communicating with the network-based facility to offer a good or
service for sale, communicating with the network-based facility to
purchase a good or service, communicating with the network-based
facility to present feedback regarding a transaction, and updating
a profile maintained by the network-based facility.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the potentially fraudulent
activity includes at least one of shill bidding and shill
feedback.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the detection of the
potentially fraudulent activity is responsive to a matching of a
plurality of user transaction preferences from a plurality of
different user identifies.
19. The method of claim 15, further comprising: generating a first
shill cookie and a second shill cookie for the first user
identifier and the second user identifier, respectively; and
transmitting information stored on the first shill cookie and the
second shill cookie to the network-based facility responsive to one
of the plurality of triggering events with respect to a
network-based facility and associated with the first identifier and
the second identifier, respectively.
20. A computer-readable storage medium comprising no transitory
signals, the computer-readable storage medium having instructions
that, when executed by at least one processor causes the at least
one processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
generating a first identifier associated with a first set of
transaction preferences, the first identifier to be stored on a
first client machine, the first identifier being generated
responsive to at least one of a plurality of triggering events with
respect to a network-based facility; generating a second identifier
associated with a second set of transaction preferences, the second
identifier to be stored with either the first identifier on the
first client machine or on a second client machine, the second
identifier being generated responsive to at least one of the
plurality of triggering events with respect to the network-based
facility; receiving information stored in one or both of the first
identifier and the second identifier at the network-based facility;
and detecting potentially fraudulent activity by detecting a lack
of correspondence between the first set of transaction preferences
and the second set of transaction preferences.
Description
PRIORITY
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit
of priority under to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/905,046,
filed on Jul. 26, 2001, which claims the benefit of priority under
to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/249,139, filed
Nov. 15, 2000, the benefit of priority of each of which is claimed
hereby, and each of which are incorporated by reference herein in
its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of
e-commerce and, more specifically, to detecting, minimizing, and
deterring suspicious transactions occurring within a network-based
transaction facility such as, for example, an Internet-based
auction facility.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Some of the advantages offered by a typical network-based
transaction facility, such as an Internet-based auction facility,
are the simplicity, promptness and convenience of participating in
the auction process. Conducting transaction such as auctioning over
a network-based transaction facility has becoming very popular.
Increasing traffic to the facility also increases the occurrence of
fraudulent transactions, for example, fraudulent bidding and
fraudulent providing of feedback by the same entity or its
associates. Fraudulent transactions continue to plague many online
auction facilities with negative press, associated backlash and
possible decrease in overall transitioning levels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention discloses methods and apparatuses for
detecting fraudulent activities made over a network-based
transaction facility using a machine. In responsive to a first
event with respect to the network-based transaction facility and
initiated under a first user identity from the machine which is
coupled to the network-based transaction facility via a network,
the method causes a first identifier associated with the first user
identity to be stored on the machine. In responsive to a second
event with respect to the network-based transaction facility and
initiated under a second user identity from the machine, the method
causes detecting of a potentially fraudulent activity by detecting
a lack of correspondence between the first identifier stored on the
machine and a second identifies associated with the second user
identity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and
not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in
which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
[0006] FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of one embodiment of a
network-based transaction facility;
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of one
embodiment of a database maintained by a database engine
server;
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary diagrammatic representation
of one embodiment of a user table within the database;
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary diagrammatic representation
of one embodiment of a locations table within the database;
[0010] FIG. 5A Illustrates an exemplary format of shill cookie that
is placed on a client machine and that is feeding to the
network-based transaction facility.
[0011] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary format of a non-session
cookie bundle that is placed on a client machine and that is
feeding to the network-based transaction facility;
[0012] FIGS. 6A-D illustrate exemplary flow diagrams of embodiments
for a method of detecting suspicious transactions occurring over a
network-based transaction facility;
[0013] FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary suspicious transactions
table keeping record of suspicious transactions;
[0014] FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary report provided to an
Investigation Team; and
[0015] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary
embodiment of a computer system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Methods and apparatuses for detecting suspicious
transactions or fraudulent activities occurring over a
network-based transaction facility are described. In the following
description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details
are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in
the art that the present invention may be practiced without these
specific details.
Terminology
[0017] For the purposes of the present specification, the term
"transaction" shall be taken to include any communications between
two or more entities and shall be construed to include, but not be
limited to, commercial transactions including sale and purchase
transactions, auctions, providing feedback, accessing e-mail, and
the like.
Transaction Facility
[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary
network-based transaction facility in the form of an Internet-based
auction facility 10. While an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention is described with the context of an auction facility, it
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention
will find application in many different types of computer-based,
and network-based, commerce facilities.
[0019] The auction facility 10 includes one or more of a number of
types of front-end servers, namely page servers 12 that deliver web
pages (e.g., markup language documents), picture servers 14 that
dynamically deliver images to be displayed within Web pages,
listing servers 16, CGI servers 18 that provide an intelligent
interface to the back-end of facility 10, and search servers 20
that handle search requests to the facility 10. E-mail servers 21
provide, inter alia, automated e-mad communications to users of the
facility 10.
[0020] The back-end servers include a database engine server 22, a
search index server 24 and a credit card database server 26, each
of which maintains and facilitates access to a respective database,
for example, database 23.
[0021] The internet-based auction facility 10 may be accessed by a
client program 30, such as a browser (e.g., the Internet Explorer
distributed by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash.) that executes on
a client machine 32 and accesses the facility 10 via a network such
as, for example, the Internet 34. Other examples of networks that a
client may utilize to access the auction facility 10 include a wide
area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless network
(e.g., a cellular network), or the Plain Old Telephone Service
(POTS) network.
Database Structure
[0022] FIG. 2 is a database diagram Illustrating an exemplary
database 23, maintained by and accessed via the database engine
server 22, which at least partially implements and supports the
auction facility 10. The database 23 may, in one embodiment, be
implemented as a relational database, and includes a number of
tables having entries, or records, that are linked by indices and
keys. In an alternative embodiment, the database 23 may be
implemented as collection of objects in an object-oriented
database.
[0023] Central to the database 23 is a user table 40, which
contains a record for each user of the auction facility 10. A user
may operate as a seller, buyer, or both, within the auction
facility 10. A user information table 41 is linked to the user
table 40 and includes more detailed information about each user.
The database 23 also includes item tables 42 that may be linked to
the user table 40. Specifically, the tables 42 include a seller
items table 44 and a bidder items table 46. A user record in the
user table 40 may be linked to multiple items that are being, or
have been, auctioned via the facility 10. A link indicates whether
the user is a seller or a bidder (or buyer) with respect to items
for which records exist with the item tables 42. The database 23
also includes a note table 48 populated with note records that may
be linked to one or more item records within the item tables 42
and/or to one or more user records within the user table 40. Each
note record within the table 48 may include, inter alia, a comment,
description, history or other information pertaining to an item
being auction via the auction facility 10, or to a user of the
auction facility 10.
[0024] A number of other tables are also shown to be linked to the
user table 40, namely a user past aliases table 50, a feedback
table 52, a feedback details table 53, a bids table 54, an accounts
table 56, an account balances table 58 and a transaction record
table 60. In addition, the database 23 includes a location table 59
which stores valid demographic information that is used to verify
registration information submitted by users during the registration
process. Further yet, database 23 includes a potentially fraudulent
activity table or a suspicious transaction table 70-1 and report
table 70-2 used to record and report potentially fraudulent
activities or suspicious transactions occurring from client
machines.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary
embodiment of the user table 40 that is populated with records, or
entries, for each user of the auction facility 10. The table 40
includes a user identifier column 62 that stores a unique
identifier for each user. A name column 64 stores a first name, a
middle initial and a last name for each user. An address column 66
stores full address information for each user, e.g. a street name
and number, city, zip code, state, etc. A phone number column 68
stores a home phone number for each user. It may be desirable to
have each user verified, for example, through some identity
checking process to verify that the user is who it is purporting to
be prior to granting access to a particular user. Verification
detail column 70 and verification rating column 72 may be included
in the user table 40 to indicate details and rating of each
individual's verification process.
[0026] It will be appreciated that any information other than that
described above may populate the user table 40 without loss of
generality.
[0027] FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagrammatic representation of an
embodiment of the location table 59. The location table 59 stores a
list of current zip codes and associated location information. In
one embodiment, the data stored in the location table 59 is
imported from a commercial database and is periodically completely
re-populated with a new release of the commercial database.
Alternatively, the data stored in the locations table 59 is
obtained from various sources including various commercial
databases and/or the auction facility 10 itself. The table 59
includes a zip code column 80 that stores a list of current zip
codes in the U.S. and abroad. Each zip code corresponds to a valid
city information stored in a city column 82. A flag stored in a
column 102 indicates whether the city information stored in the
column 82 is for a main city or an alias city. The zip code
information stored in the column 80 is also correlated with areas
code information stored in an area code column 92 and with other
location information stored in a state column 84, country name
column 86, country code column 88, country column 90, time zone
column 94, latitude column 98, and longitude column 100. A column
96 includes a flag indicating, for each entry, whether daylight
savings time is adopted in this geographic area. A source column
104 stores a value indicating the source of the record, i.e.,
whether the record was imported from a certain commercial database,
created by an administrator of the auction facility 10, or was
originated by other source.
[0028] It will be appreciated that other demographic information
may also populate the location table 59.
Shill Bidding
[0029] Shill bidding is defined as fraudulent bidding by the seller
(using an alternate registration) or by an associate of the seller
in order to Inflate the price of an offering (e.g., an item or a
service). One form of shill bidding is when a seller uses multiple
user identifiers or user identifications (IDs) to bid on his/her
own auction items using the same client machine, for example, the
same computer that is connected to the Internet-based action
facility.
Shill Feedback
[0030] A feedback feature is an option allowing users to provide
trustworthy rating or any comment regarding a particular user when
they completed a transaction. In one example, comments are recorded
in the feedback table 52 and/or feedback details table 53. Such
comments may include whether the transaction went through smoothly,
the seller/bidder/purchaser was good to deal with, or anything
relating to the trustworthiness of the activities completed, are
recorded here. Shill feedback is defined as fraudulent feedback by
one person, either by a bidder, seller, or his associates, for
himself, to fraudulently bolster his/her own trustworthiness. For
instance, a user who is the seller may also pose as a bidder who
has completed a transaction with this seller and now has rated him
as a trustworthy person in order to encourage activity to his
listing items.
Suspicious Transactions
[0031] Suspicious transactions may include but is not limited to
shill bidding or shill feedback. Suspicious transactions may also
include a fraudulent activity conducted with the transaction
facility. Fraudulent activity likewise may include shill bidding or
shill feedback.
Shill Cookie
[0032] A shill cookie of this method and apparatus invention is
used for detecting, in turn, minimizing and deterring, shill
bidding that occurs when the same client machine was used to both
list and bid on an item This shill cookie invention is also used
for detecting, minimizing and deterring shill feedback that occurs
when the same client machine was used to both make a transaction
and give a feedback comment regarding the transaction.
[0033] A cookie is a file that contains information (cookies)
created by conventional Web sites (such as the Internet-based
auction facility 10) that is stored on the user's machine, the
client machine. A cookie is a one way for the Internet-based
auction facility 10 to keep track of its users' patterns and
preferences. The cookies may contain URLs (addresses) for the
Internet-based auction facility 10. When the browser encounters the
URLs again, it would send those specific cookies to the Web
servers. In that event, it would save the user from typing the same
information, such as user preferences, populated fields on the item
listing form, etc., all over again when accessing that service for
the second and subsequent time. For the cookies to work, the Web
site typically needs the cooperation of the Web browser used by the
client machine to store the cookies on the client machine in the
cookie file.
[0034] One novel method of the instant invention is the application
of a cookie as a mechanism to detect suspicious transactions or
fraudulent activities. Using a cookie writing method, the shill
cookie will record all activities that occurred on a particular
client machine and when there is an interaction between the
different accounts from the same computer, such interaction is
recorded into a database (see below). This tracking mechanism is
effective at detecting, minimizing, and deterring fraudulent
transactions.
[0035] In one exemplary embodiment, when a new user (a user
identity) with new user identification or user identifier (user-ID)
performs one of the triggering events with the Internet-based
auction facility 10, a cookie is placed in the client machine. In
the event that a cookie for the Internet-based auction facility 10
already exists in the client machine, the cookie will add this new
user's user-ID into the cookie. If at least two triggering events
with two different user-IDs are both recorded into the same shill
cookie, a potentially fraudulent activity is suspected.
[0036] Exemplary triggering events include: registering with the
network-based transaction facility(e.g., user registration with the
facility 10); communicating an offer to sell an offering (e.g.,
user listing an item for sale via the facility 10), communicating
and offering to purchase the offering (e.g., user bidding on the
offering via the facility 10), communicating a feedback regarding a
transaction (e.g., user giving feedback comment on a transaction
via the facility 10), updating a profile maintained by the facility
10 (e.g., user updating his personal profile), and/or any other
bidding activities.
[0037] In one embodiment, the Internet-based auction facility 10 is
currently recording user transaction preferences such as all of the
information about any particular user. For example, selling
preferences, preferred listing category, preferred buying category,
preferred payment means, including what type of credit card and
credit card numbers to accept or use, shipping information, and
etc, are all recorded. The user would choose these options by
checking off these options using a conventional user interface
device, such as a keyboard or a mouse. By choosing these options,
the user has instructed the Web browser to remember his/her user
transaction preferences for dealing with the Internet-based auction
facility 10. In that event, a cookie is created for this client
machine.
[0038] Any subsequent dealing occurring from this client machine,
for example, when a request is submitted for retrieval of
information, this client machine will send the facility information
such as the type of browser the client machine uses, the date of
the request, as well as the information in the cookie file. Such
sending is done automatically and freely each time an access to the
internet-based auction facility 10 is made. Therefore, for any
subsequent dealing with the Internet-based auction facility 10, the
Web browser will retrieve the information from the preference
cookie and communicate it to this facility. This will save the user
from having to choose the preferences again, unless the user wishes
to modify the user transaction preferences.
[0039] FIG. 5A illustrates that the shill cookie 501 (will record
at least the following information: a unique cookie identifier or
identification(cookie ID) 502 and all user-IDs 503. The shill
cookie 501 may be arranged in the shill cookie format 500 in which,
all user-IDs who have used the same client machine for listing,
bidding, or leaving feedback are recorded under user-IDs 503. All
of the user-IDs 503 may take the form of sets of numbers delimited
by ";" for example, 111222; 333444; 555666; and 777888. Each cookie
name is recorded in the cookie ID 502, for example, a shill cookie
may be named "cookie-shill," and the shill cookie from a particular
client machine will have a unique cookie ID. The number of user-IDs
to be stored in the user-IDs 504 is set at a predetermined number,
for example, 10. Each user ID may also be set at a predetermined
character length, for example, 8.
[0040] In a preferred embodiment, the shill cookie 501 is bundled
together into a file containing multiple cookie files (cookie
bundle). Cookie bundling is a common practice in this field wherein
all of the separate cookies pertaining to different type of user
transaction preferences are packed together into one file. The user
must either accept all of the cookies as a bundle or none of the
cookies will be placed in the machine. This cookie bundle may
comprise other cookies for user transaction preferences that would
be cumbersome for the user to creating anew each time the user
accesses the Internet-based auction facility 10. The cookie bundle
may include information relating to transactions with the
Internet-based auction facility 10 as well as information relating
to other request unrelated to auctioning.
[0041] In one method, a new cookie ID which indicates the shill
cookie 501 is added to a list of other cookies. A cookie bundle's
list may be as followings: "cookie-userID, cookieAdult,
cookie_signinpref, cookie_persistent_userID, cookie_SYI,
cookie_watchtotal, cookie_skipaddphotopage, cookie_history_item,
cookie_history search, cookie_history_listing, and cookie_shill."
Each of the cookies may contain information pertaining to a set of
preferences chosen by the user for the user's convenience.
[0042] In the preferred embodiment, the cookie bundle is
"non-session" or "permanent" which does not expire at the end of
every session with the Internet-based auction facility 10. By
default, most cookies are sessional and expire when the session is
completed, like when the user closes the browser. Non-session
cookie is configured by the Internet-based auction facility 10 to
expire at a certain time.
[0043] It may be desirable to encrypt the shill cookie and the
cookie bundle using any conventional encryption technology widely
available. However, encryption is complicated and expensive.
[0044] In a preferred embodiment, the shill cookie and the cookie
bundle are encoded. Encoding a cookie is formatting a cookie into a
language that is not readily apparent to the user. This practice is
well known in the field. The encoded cookie will be unreadable to a
layman user without the formula to decode the cookie. Encoding the
cookie would make it more difficult for even the savvy users to
know that their users IDs are recorded to the cookie. For example,
for a user with a user ID "John Doe, " the cookie will display a
number "123456," which is uniquely assigned to this user ID by the
Internet-based auction facility 10. In this way, the user cannot
alter a particular section of the cookie bundle without destroying
the whole cookie bundle. For example, it will be difficult for the
user to determine which code represents what preferences and which
code represents the information that identifies the user. The user
will not know what information to keep or delete such that his
preference settings will not be destroyed.
[0045] In one embodiment, for each client machine, the non-session
cookie bundle 511 containing shill cookie 501 may be recorded
according to cookie bundle table 510. The table 510 may include a
version column 512 for recording the version of the cookie bundle
511. The table 510 may also include a column 513 for the number of
cookies, column 514 for all of the cookie IDs ever used, column 515
specifying the character length of each cookie and column 516 for
recording the encoded information of each cookie. The cookie
bundle's list mentioned above may be incorporated into the cookie
ID column 514. It will be appreciated that other cookie information
may also populate the cookie bundle table 510.
Suspicious Transactions Table
[0046] A potentially fraudulent activity table is defined as a
table that is stored within the database 23 of the Internet-based
auction facility 10 that will record and store all the occurrences
of suspicious transactions such as shill bidding and shill
feedback. The potentially fraudulent activity table may store any
suspicious transactions occurring over the facility 10. This table
may be viewed as a shill table that record all the frequency of
shill bidding or shill feedback after the occurrence of some
triggering events. The following sections illustrate some
triggering event examples.
[0047] FIG. 6A illustrates registration 600-1 which triggers the
placing of a shill cookie into client machine. A user ID is
required for the user to access the Internet-based auction facility
10. Step 602 shows the user registers with the facility 10 (the
site) from a client computer. Step 604 shows that the facility 10
searches to see if a shill cookie is already on the client machine.
If it does not already exist, step 606 will place a shill cookie in
the client computer. Step 606 also shows that after a shill cookie
is dropped in the client machine, the user ID will be recorded into
that shill cookie. Step 610 shows that if the shill cookie already
exists but that it does not already contain the user ID, that user
ID will be added to the shill cookie. Once the shill cookie is
dropped and the user ID is recorded, step 608 or step 612 completes
the registration 600-1.
[0048] FIG. 6B illustrates listing 600-2 which triggers the placing
of a shill cookie in the client computer. It may be referred to as
"Sell Your Items" (SYI) at some Internet-based auction facility.
Step 620 shows the user logs on to the Internet-based auction
facility 10 (the site) and lists an item for sale from a client
computer. At step 621, the facility 10 confirms the listing. Step
622 shows that the user may log on to the site via some other way,
for example, from a different location and/or different client
machine. In step 624, the network-based auction facility 10 will
search to see if a shill cookie is in the client machine and if
not, places the shill cookie in the client machine. The client
machine in this example is the one that the user uses to log on.
Then, step 626 will search to see if the user's ID is already
recorded in the shill cookie, and if not, add the user's ID into
the shill cookie. Step 627 shows that if the shill cookie already
exists and the user's ID is also already recorded in the shill
cookie, there is no need to drop another cookie. And, step 628 or
step 629 completes the listing 600-2.
[0049] FIG. 6C illustrates bidding 600-3 which triggers the placing
of a shill cookie as well as detecting shill bidding in the client
computer. Step 630 shows the user logs on to the Internet-based
auction facility 10 (the site) and bids on a listed item from the
client computer. At step 631, the facility 10 places and confirms
the bid. In step 632, the network-based auction facility 10 will
search to see if a shill cookie is in the client machine and if
not, places the shill cookie in the client machine. Then, step 633
will search to see if the user's ID is already recorded in the
shill cookie, and if not, add the user's ID into the shill cookie.
Step 634 is an inspection step. In step 634, the Internet-based
auction facility 10 will examine the shill cookie from the client
machine to see if the ID of the user who listed the item for sale
is the same as the ID of the user who placed a bid on the item. If
no matching is detected, step 635 completes the bidding 600-3. If
there is a match, step 636 will indicate to the Internet-based
auction facility 10 that shill bidding is suspected. Step 637 shows
an exemplary step that the Internet-based auction facility 10 will
take when a shill bidding is suspected. Step 637 will add a record
of the shill bidding activity into a table containing information
such as item id, seller id, bidder id, all user ids in the shill
cookie, category, site id, seller country, bidder country, price,
end item and type. (See below).
[0050] FIG. 6D illustrates feedback 600-4 which triggers the
placing of a shill cookie as well as detecting shill feedback in
the client machine. Step 640 shows a commentor, the user, logs on
to the Internet-based auction facility 10 (the site) and leaves a
feedback comment regarding a particular transaction on a listed
item from the client computer. At step 641, the facility 10 will
check his user ID. For instance, the facility 10 will search to see
if a shill cookie is in the client computer and if not, places the
shill cookie in the client computer. Then, step 642 will search to
see if the user's ID is already recorded in the shill cookie, and
if not, add the user's ID into the shill cookie. Step 644 is an
inspection step. In step 644, the Internet-based auction facility
10 will examine the shill cookie from the client machine to see if
the ID of the user who leaves the feedback is the same as the ID of
the user for whom the feedback pertains to (the commentee). If no
matching is detected, step 645 completes the feedback 600-4. If
there is a match, step 646 will indicate to the Internet-based
auction facility 10 that a shill feedback is suspected. Step 647
shows an exemplary step that the Internet-based auction facility 10
will take when a shill feedback is suspected. Step 647 will add a
record of the shill feedback activity into a table containing
information such as item id, seller id, bidder id, all user ids in
the shill cookie, category, site id, seller country, bidder
country, price, end item, and type. (See below).
[0051] In one embodiment, the facility 10 may cause a first
identifier (e.g., a user-ID) that is associated with a first user
identity (e.g., a seller or a bidder) to be stored on the machine
(e.g., a client computer). This action is responsive to the first
user identifier making a first event (e.g., his first transaction)
with the facility 10 using the user-ID. In this example, the
computer is coupled to the facility 10, for example, via a network
connection.
[0052] The facility 10 will detect a potentially fraudulent
activity when a second event (e.g., a second transaction) is made
with the facility 10 using the same client computer. When the
second event is made with a second user identifier (e.g., a new
user-ID), the facility 10 may also cause the new user ID to be
stored on the machine. When the facility 10 detects that there is a
lack of correspondence between the first user identifier and the
second user identifier, the potentially fraudulent activity is
suspected. For instance, when both the first user identifier and
the second user identifier are stored on the same client machine
and they are distinct from one another, a potentially fraudulent
activity is detected because of the lack of correspondence. In one
embodiment, the facility 10 will cause the lack of correspondence
between the first user identifier and the second user identifier to
be detected at the machine. In that event, the facility 10 may send
a program to the machine requesting a comparison of the first user
identifier and the second user identifier and if there is a
difference between the two identifiers the information is alerted
to the facility 10. In another embodiment, both the first and the
second user identifiers are sent by the machine to the facility 10
and the facility 10 will perform the detection of the lack of
correspondence between these two user identifiers or any user
identifiers for that matter. The user identifiers may be sent to
the facility 10 using any conventional method of automatic
exchanging of information between the machine and the facility 10
as discussed above (e.g., cookie mechanism).
[0053] When the potentially fraudulent activity is detected, the
facility 10 may cause the system to prohibit a completion of any of
the transactions. Alternatively, the facility 10 may allow the
transaction to be completed and delay any course of action that the
facility 10 may take. In this manner, the users committing the
potentially fraudulent activities are unaware of the detection of
their activities by the facility 10 until some course of actions is
taken.
[0054] The first event and the second event may be any one of the
triggering events described above. These events may also be any one
of the following: registering with the network-based transaction
facility, communicating an offer to sell an offering via the
network-based transaction facility, communicating and offering to
purchase the offering via the network-based transaction facility,
communicating a feedback regarding a transaction, and updating a
profile maintained by the network-based transaction facility.
[0055] It will be appreciated that the facility 10 will continue
its process of detecting potentially fraudulent activities each
time a new user identifier is used to make a new event using the
same machine that the first user identifier used.
[0056] In yet another embodiment, the matching of the user-ID s
occurring in FIGS. 6A-6D may be done by matching the user
transaction preferences of the users as opposed to matching the
user-IDs discussed above. For example, the Internet-based auction
facility 10 may match the shipping addresses, payment method,
credit card numbers, bidding history, and the like that are common
between any two users.
[0057] All of the suspicious transactions are or the potentially
fraudulent activities recorded and sent to a database, such as
database 23. These transactions are tabulated into the suspicious
transactions table 70-1. FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment
of the suspicious transactions table 70-1, table 701. Table 701 may
be populated with a column 702, for recording the ID of the items
that had shill bidding or shill feedback; column 703, for recording
the seller's user ID; column 704, for recording the bidder's user
ID; column 705, for recording all the user identifiers or the user
IDs that have been used with the particular client machine; column
706, for recording the transaction category that had shill bidding
or shill feedback; and column 712, for recording the type of
suspicious transaction, such as shill bidding or shill feedback.
Table 701 may also be populated with other columns such as 708,
709, 710, and 711 for recording the country information of the
seller, the country information of the bidder, the price of the
item, the starting price and the bidding price of the item, and the
date of the sales, respectively.
[0058] It will also be appreciated that other information may also
populate the suspicious transaction table 701 without the lost of
generality.
[0059] In one embodiment, a daily report 70-2 is generated at the
end of each day or at any other predetermined time. (See FIG. 7B).
The daily report 70-2 may be updated as frequently as necessary,
for instance, on a daily basis, a weekly basis, or any other
suitable periodic basis. The daily report 70-2 may be recorded in
the database 23. This report 70-2 is provided to an Investigation
Team who will confirm whether the suspicious transactions were
indeed shill bidding or shill feedback or other fraudulent
activities occurring on the Internet-based auction facility 10. The
report 70-2 may be provided to the team through an electronic mail
system, traditional mail system, paper document, or by any other
convenient methods.
[0060] In one example, the report 70-2 comprises a field 721 for
cookie IDS. This field 721 records all of the unique identification
numbers of all cookies, which corresponds to certain client
machines that record the suspicious transactions. The report 70-2
also comprises a field 722 for all of the user-IDs that are stored
with the shill cookie. The field 722 will help give the
Investigation Team insights, for example, that users X, Y, and Z
share the same machine and are closely linked. This information
provides additional utility, such as the ability to enforce the
account disclosure initiative. Such a tool provides the
Internet-based auction facility 10 with the visibility to all
accounts owned by members. The report 70-2 also comprises a field
723 which records the frequency (shill count) for each of the
client machine.
[0061] In another embodiment, the report 70-2 may also include
field 724, 725, 726, and 727 for optional information such as the
category that had suspicious transactions, the specialty site that
had suspicious transactions, the country where the suspicious
transactions occurred and the price range with which the suspicious
transactions occurred.
[0062] In a preferred embodiment, the report 70-2 have all of the
information sorted by user IDs and by shill count in a descending
or ascending order. The user IDs may also be listed first to alert
the Investigation Team to the repeat offenders for appropriate
actions.
[0063] In yet another preferred embodiment, the report 70-2 may
include a ranking indication such as to alert the Investigation
Team to the client machine with the highest frequency of
occurrences of suspicious transactions. For instance, the report
70-2 may be sorted in the order of high frequency occurrence to low
frequency occurrence. The ranking indication may be included in
priority ranking column 728. A system such as high priority, medium
priority, and low priority may be established to indicate to the
Investigation Team which group of client machines the team should
investigate first. In one example, the high priority group may
include those cookie IDs with shill counts above 200; the medium
priority group may include those cookie IDs with shill counts
between 51-200; and the low priority group may include those cookie
IDs with shill counts between 1-50.
[0064] In one embodiment, the management team at the Internet-based
auction facility 10 is endorsed with the ability to override the
report for a particular client machine. Alternatively, the
management team is endorsed with the ability to perform selective
auditing of a certain client machine. This feature is particularly
helpful for the unusual situations where the Internet-based auction
facility 10 already knows that the same client machine will be used
to make many different transactions. An auction house is one of
such example.
[0065] In summary, it will be appreciated that the above described
interfaces, and underlying technologies, provide a convenient
vehicle for verifying the identity of a participant in a
transaction facility using a seamlessly integrated, real-time
process and for making a verification result readily available to
other participants.
Computer Architecture
[0066] FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the
exemplary form of a computer system 800 within which a set of
instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one of the
methodologies discussed above, may be executed. In the alternative
embodiment, the machine may comprise a network router, a network
switch, a network bridge, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a
cellular telephone, a web appliance or any machine capable of
executing a sequence of instructions that specify actions to be
taken by the machine.
[0067] The computer system 800 includes a processor 802, a main
memory 804 and a static memory 806, which communicate with each
other via a bus 808. The computer system 800 may further include a
video display unit 810 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a
cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 800 also includes an
alpha-numeric input device 812 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control
device 814 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 816, a signal
generation device 820 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface
device 822.
[0068] The disk drive unit 816 includes a computer-readable medium
824 on which is stored a set of instructions (i.e., software) 826
embodying any one, or all, of the methodologies described above.
The software 826 is also shown to reside, completely or at least
partially, within the main memory 804 and/or within the processor
802. The software 826 may further be transmitted or received via
the network interface device 822. For the purposes of this
specification, the term "computer-readable medium" shall be taken
to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a
sequence of instructions for execution by the computer and that
cause the computer to perform any one of the methodologies of the
present invention. The term "computer-readable medium" shall
accordingly be taken to included, but not be limited to,
solid-state memories, optical and magnetic disks, and carrier wave
signals.
[0069] Thus, a method and apparatus for detecting suspicious
transactions occurring over a network-based transaction facility
have been described. Although the present invention has been
described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will
be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to
these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and
scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings
are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive
sense.
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