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TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the charging and billing of communication calls
and, more particularly, to an automated method of validating a request to
charge a call using a credit card.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Credit card billing is supplementing and gradually replacing the use of
cash as the preferred method for the payment of goods and services. The
use of credit cards for the payment of telecommunication services also is
increasing and, in some situations such as calls from pay telephones, is
the preferrd method of paying for calls.
To better manage the increasing use of credit cards to bill
telecommunication services, telephone companies have incorporated data
base systems to provide automated billing of calls or to assist the
operator in the billing of calls. One such arrangement is described in A.
B. Mearns U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,377. In Mearns, a method of automatically
processing special service calls (such as credit card, collect and
charge-to-a-third number calls) is disclosed which verifies the
entitlement of a caller to charge and bill the call to a number other than
that of the station from which the call is originated. The method,
referred to as ABC (Auto Bill Calling), furnishes automated collect
calling and unrestricted calling on credit card and charge-to-a-third
number calls.
Businesses have found it desirable to provide their employees with credit
cards for charging telephone calls during business trips. However,
businesses do not want to pay for non-business related calls of the
employee. Businesses would like a cost-effective way to restrict certain
types of credit card calls.
One prior AT&T service uses a "call me" card which prevents a caller from
using a telephone charge card to bill a call to other than the telephone
number on the telephone charge card. The above-identified Mearns patent
also discloses a method for assisting operators in preventing collect
calls and bill-to-a-third number calls from being billed to pay telephone
stations within a designated area.
Notwithstanding these important prior art arrangements, there is an
increasing need to provide businesses and other owners of credit cards
with a more flexible way to restrict the use of their credit cards for
billing communications calls.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, apparatus and method are
disclosed for limiting the geographical calling area of calls charged to a
credit card. The present invention is implemented as part of, and
hereinafter referred to as, a Customer Account Services (CAS) system.
According to the CAS system, when a credit card call is originated, the
called party number is included as part of the credit card validation
request made by the local exchange carrier (LEC) to the common carrier
network. The network validates the credit card for billing purposes, and
also compares the called number against numbers stored in a call
restriction table previously entered by the owner of the credit card. If
the called number is to a geographically restricted area or number, a call
denial response is sent from the network, via the LEC, to the caller.
Calls can also be restricted based on the calling party number. As in the
prior art, a call denial response is also given to the caller if the
credit card is invalid for billing calls.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 shows, in block diagram form, an illustrative network configuration
of Local Exchange Carriers (LEC), toll switching offices, a Common Channel
Signaling (CCS) Network, Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) or
Operator Services Position System (OSPS) equipment, Network Control Point
(NCP) and Operations Support Systems (OSS) for providing credit card calls
and useful in describing the operations of the CAS system;
FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of functions performed by the CAS system and
other network elements of FIG. 1 in providing credit card calls in
accordance with the operation of the present invention and
FIG. 3 illustrates a contract table, a customer defined geographic
restriction table and an invalid calling station table used with the CAS
system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Before proceeding with the operating description of the inventive CAS
system, it should be recognized that the method of the CAS system may be
adapted for use with a variety of different systems which can be arranged
to implement the switching network configuration shown in FIG. 1. Since
the various systems shown in FIG. 1 utilize a variety of hardware and
programming techniques, no attempt is made to describe the existing
programs used to control these various systems. However, using the
following description as a guide, the operations of the CAS system must be
integrated into the control structure of the various systems of FIG. 1,
and tailored to cooperate with other features and operations of those
systems. Thus, in order to avoid confusion and enable those skilled in the
art to practice the claimed invention, this specification will describe
the operation of the CAS system using the network block diagram of FIG. 1,
the flowchart of FIG.2 and the various tables shown in FIG. 3 which,
together, are used to describe operating steps and the various data
required to implement the CAS system. In the following description, the
first digit of an element's reference number designates the figure where
the element is located (e.g., 101 is located in FIG. 1).
With reference to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a block diagram of a
well-known network configuration useful in describing the operation of the
CAS system. The drawing illustrates two Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)
switching offices 101 and 102, which serve associated telephone stations.
The LEC 101 serves stations 103, 104; LEC 102 serves stations 105, 106.
The drawing also discloses a Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) or
Operator Services Position System (OSPS) 113 and toll offices 107 and 108
which, together, form a toll telephone network serving LEC's 101 and 102.
The structural details of the LEC, toll offices, and the TSPS/OSPS system
form no part of the present invention and are only described herein to the
extent necessary for an understanding of the CAS system. For accuracy, it
should be noted that the TSPS cannot send the calling party number in the
CAS validation query shown on facility 123 of FIG. 1. For convenience,
OSPS/TSPS 113 will be referred to hereinafter as OSPS 113.
A TSPS for serving credit card calls is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
3,484,560 issued to R. J. Jaeger, Jr., on Dec. 16, 1969, and the December,
1970, article in Bell System Technical Journal, 49, BSTJ No. 10, page
2417, et seq., which describes the structure and operations of TSPS
equipment.
An illustrative OSPS is described in the article written by N. X. DeLessio,
et al.: "An Integrated Operator Services Capability for the 5ESS Switching
System", International Switching Symposium '84, (Florence), Session 22C,
Paper 3, pp. 1-5, May, 1984.
Each of the LEC's, by way of example, is suitably an electronic
program-controlled telephone system of the No. 1 ESS (Electronic Switching
System) or No. 5 ESS type. The No. 1 ESS is described in the Bell System
Technical Journal (BSTJ), September, 1964, Volume XLIII, Number 5, Parts 1
and 2; and in the R. W. Downing, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,008 of Mar.
9, 1971. The No. 5 ESS is extensively described in AT&T Technical Journal,
vol. 64, no. 6, part 2, pp. 1305-1564, July/August, 1985. The
above-identifie disclosures and the citations referred to therein may be
consulted for a complete understanding of the construction and operations
of a typical LEC office.
Each toll office, 107 and 108, may be, illustratively, an electronic
program-cotrolled telephone system of the No. 4 ESS design with Common
Channel Signaling (CCS or CCIS), as disclosed in the Bell System Technical
Journal (BSTJ), September, 1977, Volume 56, No. 7.
The CCS direct signaling facilities 100 utilized and the data base system
are basically a data link, or packet, switching system for routing
messages in accordance with their address data contents. CCS system
features are disclosed in the February, 1978, Bell System Technical
Journal (BSTJ) No. 2 and in W. B. Smith, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,613
of Nov. 30, 1971.
An NCP is a centralized data base facility which is controlled by a
processor 131 comprising CPU 132 and memory 133. The memory stores a
system of programs 134 to establish, edit and manage information stored in
its data memory 135. The program memory 134 includes and utilizes the
special program steps outlined in the flow charts of FIG. 2 and the data
of table 1 of FIG. 3 for implementing CAS. By way of example, NCP may
comprise an AT&T Company 3B20D processor equipped with disk storage. A
receiver 136 of NCP receives dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals and
other signals from facility link 123. A transmitter circuit 137 is
included for signaling DTMF messages from NCP over link 123 to control the
switching network.
The operation of Network Control Point (NCP) is described, for example, in
the D. Sheinbein, et al., article on pp. 1737-1744 of Bell System
Technical Journal (BSTJ), September, 1982, Volume 61, No. 7, part 3. The
changes in the operation of NCP to perform the disclosed CAS/NCP 110
features is described in later paragraphs.
The operations of an Operations Support System (OSS) is generally described
in Bell System Information and Operations Systems, March, 1980, Issue 4.
The changes in the operations of OSS to perform the described CAS/OSS 111
features is described in later paragraphs.
In the following description, we assume that a credit card call is handled
without the intervention of an operator. An operator-assisted call will be
described in a later paragraph. With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the automated
processing of a credit card call with the CAS system is described by
assuming that the call is originated at calling station 103 in Chicago and
has, as a destination, station 105 in New York. Such a call involves the
dialing of an initial zero plus ten digits (e.g., 0+NPA-NXX-XXXX)
including an area code NPA number followed by seven digits NXX-XXXX
identifying the called station. The "N" digit is any number 2-9 and each
of the "X" digits is any number 0-9.
In step 201, a caller at staion 103 initiates a call, dials the zero, the
area code digits and the called station number. For example, assume the
called party at station 105 has the telephone number 212-221-0105. Office
LEC 101, illustratively, routes the call to the toll telephone network
over a trunk 121 to an OSPS system 113 equipped with CCS facilities. In
step 202, the OSPS System 113 sends an alerting or prompting signal, for
example, a "bong" tone or a tone and machine announcement for prompting
the caller to dial the appropriate credit card number for billing
purposes.
In step 203, for credit card calls from station 103 to any called station
number, such as station 105, the caller responds to the prompting signal
by dialing the credit card number (i.e., a billing code). The credit card
number may be, illustratively, a CCITT International Standard telephone
credit card number plus a four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number)
code, (YYYY). Each of the "Y" digits comprises any value 0-9. If
necessary, OSPS 113 reminds the caller to enter the PIN code.
The caller's business telephone is, illustratively, station 104 in Chicago.
The caller's business telephone includes, for example, an area code, 312,
plus a seven digit number, 366-4576.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the credit card may also be
implemented using a standard telephone credit card or any well-known
commercial credit card. The use of a commercial credit card number for
billing purposes has the advantage that it does not change when a customer
changes his or her telephone number.
In step 204, the OSPS 113 checks if a contract table restriction exists for
the particular credit card being used. The contract table 310 may, for
example, indicate if the particular credit card can be used to bill calls
handled by that LEC 101. The contract table information 311 for the LEC's
may be defined in terms of which NPA-NXX's do not have billing agreements
with this common carrier. In our example, since no contract table entry
has previously been entered for LEC 101 (i.e., the NPA-NNX (312-366) part
of the caller's telephone credit card number is not found in contract
table 311) no contract table restriction exists and call processing can
continue. If a contract table restriction exists, (e.g., a call from a
station served by an LEC having an NPA-NXX of 312-365), an appropriate
call denied message is announced, in step 226, to the caller and the call
is terminated.
The OSPS 113 checks certain fraud criteria associated with the call. One
fraud condition, the "all PIN's fail" condition shown in step 205, exists
when repeated call attempts using a particular credit card give different
wrong PIN codes. A fraud threshold is established to permit a certain
number of misdialed PIN codes. If the fraud threshold is not exceeded, in
step 205, then call processing continues. When a certain fraud threshold
is exceeded in step 205, this indicates that either the caller forgot the
PIN number (no fraud) or that that caller does not know the PIN number
because it is not his or her credit card (fraud). Under these
circumstances, the card number is deactivated at OSPS 113 for a given
period of time. Thereafter, in step 218, an appropriate announcement is
played to the calling party.
In step 206, the OSPS 113 inserts the credit card number in the address
field of the CAS validation query. The CCS network then performs
translation on the credit card number in the address field to determine
which CAS/NCP location has the customer record for that credit card
number. In our example OSPS 113 determines that a CAS validation query is
to be routed to CAS/NCP 110 for checking the validation of the call. The
OSPS 113 formulates a credit card validation query including the credit
card number, PIN, called number and calling number. In step 207, the CAS
validation is formatted into a standard CCS direct signaling message
format and routed via link 122, CCS network 109, and link 123 to CAS/NCP
110.
In steps 208 through 216, CAS/NCP 110 performs several checks or
comparisons to determine whether a dialed call, which is to be charged to
a credit card number, should be permitted or denied. In step 208, the
CAS/NCP 110 checks the validity of the credit card number in a well-known
manner. If the credit card is invalid, CAS/NCP 110 generates a call denied
message in step 217 which is sent via link 123, CCS network 109, and link
122 to OSPS 113. In step 218, OSPS 113 generates a call denied
announcement which is sent via trunk 121 and LEC 101 to the caller's
station 103. The caller may be asked to enter the card number again or to
hang up depending on the number of attempts by the caller. Additionally,
alternative billing means may also be requested from the caller.
If the credit card is valid, the PIN number is checked in step 209. If the
PIN number is invalid, a call denied message is generated, in step 217, as
previously described. If a valid PIN number is received, the geographic
restriction table for the customer is checked in step 210.
Each customer account handled by CAS/NCP 110 has a Geographic Restriction
(GR) table 320 as shown in FIG. 3. Optionally, as illustrated, a separate
GR table 320 may exist for each valid PIN number 322 associated with the
customer credit card number 321. The customer specifies any domestic or
international geographic restrictions which are entered in GR table 320.
If a domestic restriction is established, the GR bit 323 is set and, if an
international restriction is established the GR bit 324 is set. The
CAS/NCP 110 uses the called number to determine whether the call is
domestic or international. In our domestic call example, the processor 131
of CAS/NCP 110 accesses GR table 320, in step 210, to determine if the
customer's account has established any domestic geographic restriction,
i.e., is GR bit 323 set. If GR bit 323 is not set, all domestic calls can
be billed to that credit card number (subject to restrictions enforced for
reasons other than customer-defined geographic dialing restrictions.) One
such restriction is fraud which is checked in step 216 as described in a
later paragraph.
If a GR bit 323 is set, then CAS/NCP 110 compares the called number against
the restricted areas or numbers in the domestic field 321 of GR table 320.
In step 211, a polarity bit 333 of domestic field 321 of table 320 is
checked. If the polarity bit 333 is set, the list of numbers in the
domestic field 331 of GR table 320 is considered inclusive. If the
polarity bit 333 is not set, the list of numbers in domestic field 331 is
considered exclusive. The terms "inclusive" and "exclusive" will be
defined in a later paragraph.
GR table 320 may be implemented as shown in FIG. 3 to include a domestic
restriction field 331 and an international restriction field 332. These
fields may also be implemented to include multiple levels. Domestic field
331 is shown, illustratively, to include up to three levels for each
domestic dialing sequence (e.g., called number). International field 332
is shown, illustratively, to include up to two levels for each foreign
dialing sequence. It should be noted that the illustrative arrangement of
GR table 320 may be adapted to best suit the restriction requirement needs
of particular customers.
In GR table 320, the restrictions specified in domestic field 331 have no
effect on international dialing. Additionally, restrictions specified in
the international field 332 have no effect on domestic dialing.
Domestic dialing sequence lists in domestic field 331, are specified as any
combination of NPA, NPA-NXX and NPA-NXX-XXXX. International dialing
sequence lists, in international field 332, are specified as any
combination of one-digit CCITT world zones and three-digit CCITT country
codes.
As previously noted, each dialing field, whether domestic or international,
may also have a customer specified polarity bit, respectively, 333 and
334. This dialing field polarity bit specifies that either the associated
dialing sequences may be used or the associated dialing sequences may not
be used when placing calls. If the dialing sequences in a first level may
be used, the restriction list is called "inclusive". If the dialing
sequences in a first level may not be used, the restriction list is called
"exclusive". As noted, each list of dialing sequences may consist of up to
three levels. The level of a dialing sequence within a list of dialing
sequences is determined by the digits the sequence has in common with
other sequences. A first level dialing sequence has either none or all
digits in common with other dialing sequences. A second level dialing
sequence has leading, but not all, digits in common with one first level
dialing sequence. A third level dialing sequence has leading, but not all,
digits in common with one first and one second level dialing sequence.
First level sequences define the rules for determining which dialing
sequences may be used. Second level sequences define exceptions to the
rules defined by first level sequences. Third level sequences define
exceptions to the rules defined by first and second level sequences.
For inclusive lists, the customer may use any first level dialing sequence.
The second level defines dialing sequences, within those allowed by the
first level, that may not be dialed. The third level defines dialing
sequences, within those disallowed by the second level, that may be
dialed.
For exclusive lists, the customer may use any dialing sequence not
identified by a first level dialing sequence. The second level defines
dialing sequences, within those disallowed by the first level, that may be
dialed. The third level defines dialing sequences, within those allowed by
the second level, that may not be dialed.
Returning to our example, we assume the domestic polarity bit 333 is set,
and hence the domestic field 331 is exclusive. Thus, in step 213 the first
level list of domestic field 331 is exclusive. Consequently, calls to each
NPA, NPA-NXX, and NPA-NXX-XXXX listed in the first level are prohibited.
Since, in our example, the called number (i.e., 212-221-0105) has an NPA
that is found in the first level list, i.e. 212, the call, as well as all
other calls to area code 212, is geographically restricted at the first
level. However, at the second level (which lists exceptions to the first
level restrictions) calls to NPA number 212 and NXX number 221 are not
geographically restricted. Thus, our example call to 212-221-0105 is not
restricted, since it is an exception to the first level restriction.
Similarly, calls to other NPA-NXX and NPA-NXX-XXXX listed in the second
level are exceptions to the first level restrictions.
However, the third level must also be checked to determine if any exception
exists to the second level permission granted. In our example, since the
last four digits (or line number-0105) of the called party number are not
found in the third level list, the call to 212-221-0105 is not
geographically restricted.
Note, if the call had been placed to 212-221-0106 (station set 106) rather
than 212-221-0105 the call would have been rejected at the third level of
table 320. Similarly, calls to the other telephone numbers listed in the
third level are prohibited.
If the domestic polarity bit was not set then the domestic field 331 is
inclusive. Thus, the first level list would be inclusive, the second level
list would be exceptions to the first level list permissions and the third
level list would be permitted called numbers. Consequently, if the
domestic polarity bit was not set, then in step 212 our example call to
212-221-0105 would have been restricted.
Note, if the call had been an international call, a procedure similar to
the above-described domestic procedure would follow. Thus, the
international polarity bit 334 is checked to determine if the
international field 332 is inclusive or exclusive. The called
international number would then be checked against the first and second
levels to determine if the call should be permitted or denied.
Returning to our domestic call example, with the domestic polarity bit set,
call processing continues as follows. Since, in our example the called
number is not restricted in step 214, the CAS/NCP 110 proceeds with call
processing and determines in step 215 if calling station type restrictions
apply to the call.
In step 215, OSPS 113 checks table 340 to determine whether the calling
station 103 is the type of station from which calls are restricted, i.e.,
calls from a pay phone which utilizes a particular type of alternative
operator service. This feature is called terminating code screening. If
the caling station 103 was of the restricted type, its number would be
listed in table 340 (e.g., 312-366-4577) and a call denial message
generated in step 217. Then, in step 218 an appropriate announcement would
be played to the calling party. Since calling station 103 is not of the
restricted type, CAS/NCP 110 proceeds, in step 216, to determine whether a
fraud condition exists.
The GR table 320 includes a fraud indicator bit 325 which indicates whether
credit card calling fraud has previously been detected for this credit
card number and PIN. In step 216, CAS/NCP 110 detects if the fraud
indicator bit is set. If the fraud bit is set, the call is denied and
CAS/NCP 110 generates the call denied message which is sent to OSPS 113 in
step 217. If the bit is not set, normal call processing proceed in step
219.
In step 219, CAS/NCP 110 generates a call permit message which is sent to
OSPS 113. OSPS 113 records the customer billing information, in a
well-known manner, using an automated message accounting (AMA) system and
the call connection is completed between the calling and called stations.
Another type of fraud detection is performed in step 220 at CAS/NCP 110 and
involves a threshold based on the number of credit card number billing
attempts in a given period of time. Thus, notwithstanding the fact that a
correct credit card number and PIN code are entered, a fraud condition may
exist. Such a condition may exist, for example, when the credit card
number and the PIN code have been misappropriated by the user. Under those
circumstances, when the fraud threshold is exceeded in step 220 the
CAS/NCP 110 sends the credit card number and information specifying which
threshold was exceeded to the CAS/OSS 111 (step 221). Also in step 221,
the CAS/OSS 111 checks the number of call attempts against a credit card
usage profile.
In step 222, CAS/OSS 111 determines whether the credit card usage is
suspected of fraud. If no fraud is suspected, no further action is taken.
However, in step 222, if CAS/OSS 111 determines that fraud is suspected,
the record is sent, in step 223, to the Card Threshold Investigation
Center (CTIC) for further handling. The CTIC makes a final determination,
in step 224, as to whether a credit card fraud condition exists. If no
fraud condition exists, the inquiry is terminated. If a fraud condition
exists, then, in step 225, CAS/OSS 111 sends an update message to CAS/NCP
110 to set a fraud indicator bit 325 of GR table 320. The fraud indicator
bit 325 prevents subsequent calls from being charged to credit card number
321 and PIN 322.
The processing of a CAS type call assisted by an operator proceeds in the
same manner as the above-described automated call. Thus, in step 203, the
operator would collect the credit card number and PIN. If CAS/NCP 110
issues a denial message, the operator, in step 218, would inform the
calling party that the card is invalid and would ask for alternative means
for billing the call.
Thus, what has been described is a preferred embodiment of the invention.
Other methods sequences or arrangements can be used to implement the
present invention by those skilled in the art without departing from the
spirit and scope of the present invention.
While the present invention has been described as restricting telephone
calls, it should be understood that it may also be applied to restrict
data, facsimile, video or other communication calls.
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