Patent · US Active

System and method for securing data exchanged during a telephone call

US8275115B1 · kind B1 · utility

53Cited by
8References
68Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 12, 2004
Grant dateSep 25, 2012
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 25, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04M2203/60
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A system and method for receiving information from a caller without the information being accessed by an agent handling the call. A call is received and routed to an agent, who may be remote. When predetermined information (e.g., credit card number, social security number) is to be provided by the caller, an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) unit or media server is bridged into the call. The caller's input is received by the IVR unit, but not by the agent. If the information is entered as DTMF tones, those tones may be muted or altered for the agent. The agent's voice connection may remain open, however, to receive and answer questions from the caller. If the information is provided verbally, the audio connection to the agent may be muted. The agent is signaled when the information is complete, at which time the IVR unit is disconnected and the call proceeds normally.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.