System and method for coupling users to a retail computer system with low risk of eavesdropping

1. A system for providing user access to an establishment's computer network comprising:

a personal area network (PAN) access device that couples a low power, low frequency modulated signal to a wearer, the PAN access device including a data storage unit for storing personal identification data including biometric data and a modulator for modulating a low power, low frequency signal with the personal identification data;

a personal area network (PAN) receiver for receiving the modulated signal;

a database for storing purchasing data for a plurality of customers;

a memory including instructions which, when executed, associate the received personal identification data with the stored purchasing data for one of the plurality of customers; and

a microprocessor for executing the stored instructions.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the PAN access device comprises a housing sized to be worn by a user, the data storage unit and modulator located within the housing.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the PAN access device is configured as a component of a piece of jewelry.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the PAN access device further comprises an electrode for capacitively coupling the modulated signal to a wearer's body for transmission to the PAN receiver.

5. The system of claim 4 , the PAN access device further comprising:

a receiver for receiving a low power, low frequency modulated signal; and

a demodulator for demodulating the received signal for obtaining user data to be stored in the data storage unit.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data storage unit contains financial data.

7. A method for providing access to an establishment's computer network comprising:

retrieving biometric data of a user from a data storage unit born by the user;

modulating a low power, low frequency signal with the biometric data;

transmitting the modulated signal by capacitively coupling with the user's body;

receiving the transmitted modulated signal; and

retrieving prior purchasing activity data of the user from a memory remote from the user based upon the received signal.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

retrieving financial data from the data storage unit;

modulating the low power, low frequency signal with the financial data; and

accessing the memory remote from the user based upon the received signal.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

detecting a signal with an electrode born by the user;

demodulating the detected signal to obtain data; and

storing the data in the data storage unit.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein:

the method further comprises positioning a body part of the user proximate to a personal area network (PAN) receiver; and

transmitting the modulated signal comprises transmitting the modulated signal through the body part.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

generating a promotional message based upon the retrieved prior purchasing activity; and

communicating the promotional message to the user.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

detecting a signal with an electrode born by the user;

demodulating the detected signal to obtain the promotional message; and

displaying the promotional message.

13. A method for providing access to an establishment's computer network comprising:

storing data associated with a customer in a database remote from the customer;

modulating a low power, low frequency signal with data identifying the customer;

capacitively coupling the modulated signal to the customer's body for transmission to a network of the establishment;

receiving the transmitted modulated signal with a network receiver located proximate to the customer;

associating the received customer data with the stored data associated with the customer;

determining the dollar amount of purchases associated with the customer;

comparing the obtained dollar amount with a threshold dollar amount; and

determining a coupon to be offered based upon the comparison.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

detecting a signal from a network transmitter with a receiver born by the customer;

obtaining data corresponding to the coupon from the detected signal; and

storing the data corresponding to the coupon to a memory device born by the customer.

15. A method for providing access to an establishment's computer network comprising:

storing data associated with a customer in a database remote from the customer;

modulating a low power, low frequency signal with data identifying the customer;

capacitively coupling the modulated signal to the customer's body for transmission to a network of the establishment;

receiving the transmitted modulated signal with a network receiver located proximate to the customer;

associating the received customer data with the stored data associated with the customer;

locating the network receiver at a specific promotion site;

generating a promotional message based upon the associated stored data and the specific promotion site; and

providing the promotional message to the customer.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein generating a promotional message comprises:

determining a dollar amount of purchases associated with the customer;

comparing the obtained dollar amount with a threshold dollar amount; and

determining the promotional message to be generated based upon the comparison.

17. A method for providing access to an establishment's computer network comprising:

storing data associated with a customer in a database remote from the customer;

modulating a low power, low frequency signal with data identifying the customer;

capacitively coupling the modulated signal to the customer's body for transmission to a network of the establishment;

receiving the transmitted modulated signal with a network receiver located proximate to the customer; and

associating the received customer data with the stored data associated with the customer,

wherein modulating a low power, low frequency signal comprises:

modulating a low power low frequency signal with customer biometric data.