Transaction based authentication with item-level data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12524766-B2
Application number	US-202418664582-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 15, 2024
Priority date	Jul 28, 2021
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

Aspects described herein may provide techniques for authenticating a user using transaction-based authentication questions that are generated based on item-level purchase data. The item-level purchase data of a transaction may include specific details of a transaction such as identification of each item purchased and corresponding prices paid for each item. Transaction-based authentication questions for a financial account may be generated based on the item-level purchase data that an authorized user of the financial account is likely to remember and that a malicious actor is unlikely to correctly guess. As a result, the authorized user of the account is likely to be correctly authenticated while the malicious actor is likely to answer the transaction-based authentication question incorrectly. Authentication can therefore effectively block malicious actors without overly burdening actual authorized users during the authentication process.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of authenticating a user of a financial account maintained at a financial institution using knowledge-based authentication questions, the method comprising:
receiving, by a first computing device of the financial institution and from a user computing device associated with a user, a request for authorization to perform a transaction relating to the financial account, wherein the first computing device is in electronic communication via a network with the user computing device and, and via an application program interface (API), with a third party email server which stores or processes emails of the user, and wherein the emails contain transaction data indicating one or more items purchased by the user, a cost of each item, a merchant from which each item was purchased, and a date/time of each purchase; receiving, by the first computing device and from the user computing device, authorization to access the transaction data in the emails of the user; storing, by the first computing device, the transaction data in a database associated with the user; accessing, by the first computing device and from the database, the stored transaction data of the user; processing, by the first computing device, the transaction data to identify financial transaction data relating to the financial account, wherein the financial transaction data comprises indications of a first plurality of different financial transactions; selecting, by the first computing device and from among the first plurality of different financial transactions, training data comprising a second plurality of different transactions, wherein the training data indicates, with a tag, for each item of each of each transaction of the second plurality of different transactions, a likelihood that one or more users associated with the transaction would remember purchasing the item, wherein the tag relates to one or more of: a price of each item, or a spending pattern of the user; training, by the first computing device and using the training data, a machine learning model comprising a plurality of nodes of an artificial neural network to identify, among the first plurality of different financial transactions, one or more transactions for purchase of an item at a lower or discounted price or transactions that deviate from a typical spending pattern of a user, wherein training the machine learning model comprises determining weights associated with the nodes of the artificial neural network based on the training data, wherein the trained machine learning model is configured to output an indication of a memorability of the one or more transactions; providing, by the first computing device and to the trained machine learning model, the transaction data relating to the financial account of the user; receiving, from the trained machine learning model, an identification of a first financial transaction of the first plurality of different financial transactions, wherein the first financial transaction is within a predetermined time period, and wherein the indication of the memorability of the first financial transaction is high; identifying, by the first computing device, a merchant associated with the first financial transaction; processing, by the first computing device, data associated with the first financial transaction to extract item-level purchase data associated with the first financial transaction, wherein the item-level purchase data comprises:
an indication of an item purchased from the merchant within a predetermined period of time; and
a corresponding price of the item;
generating, by the first computing device and based on the financial transaction data, the merchant, and the item-level purchase data, an authorization question and a correct answer to the question for determining whether to perform the transaction; receiving, by the first computing device, from the user computing device, a response to the authorization question, wherein the response is based upon a display of the authorization question in an interface generated on the user computing device, and wherein the response relates at least to a name of the merchant, an item associated with the first financial transaction, and a price of the item; determining, by the first computing device and based on the response comprising the correct answer to the authorization question, to grant the request for authorization to perform the transaction relating to the financial account; and re-training, using second training data indicating whether the response to the authorization was correct, the trained machine learning model.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the authorization question further comprises generating the authorization question to include a request for the user to indicate a first item associated with the first financial transaction.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the authorization question further comprises generating the authorization question to include a request for the user to indicate the corresponding price of a first item associated with the first financial transaction.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the authorization question further comprises generating the authorization question to include a request for the user to indicate the merchant associated with the first financial transaction.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising processing, by the first computing device and based on one or more optical character recognition algorithms, a sales receipt associated with the first financial transaction to extract the item-level purchase data associated with the first financial transaction.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising receiving, by the first computing device and from the user computing device, an image of the sales receipt.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a first email associated with the first financial transaction.

8 . The method of the claim 7 , wherein the first email is generated by the merchant.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first email is generated by a financial account provider.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction comprises accessing funds of the financial account.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction comprises accessing secure information relating to the financial account.

12 . An apparatus, of a financial institution, configured to authenticate a user of a financial account maintained at the financial institution using knowledge-based authentication questions, the apparatus comprising:
one or more processors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
receive, from a user computing device associated with a user, a request for authorization to perform a transaction relating to the financial account, wherein the apparatus is in electronic communication via a network with the user computing device and, and via an application program interface (API), with a third party email server which stores or processes emails of the user, and wherein the emails contain transaction data indicating one or more items purchased by the user, a cost of each item, a merchant from which each item was purchased, and a date/time of each purchase;
receive and from the user computing device, authorization to access the transaction data in the emails of the user;
store the transaction data in a database associated with the user;
access, from the database, the stored transaction data of the user;
process the transaction data to identify financial transaction data relating to the financial account, wherein the fin

Assignees

• Capital One Services Llc

Inventors

• Miller Daniel
• Edwards Joshua
• Melendez Jenny
• Septimus David
• Maiman Tyler
• Chaudhary Viraj
• Rapowitz Samuel
• Vadrevu Vyjayanthi

Classifications

• H04L63/083

  using passwords (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226) · CPC title

• G06Q20/4014 Primary

  Identity check for transactions · CPC title

• H04L63/102 Primary

  Entity profiles · CPC title