Credit and identity protection network

1 . A computerized method for using a networked computer system to maintain accurate credit and identity data associated with individuals, organizations, or other entities affiliated with participating organizations, comprising:

collecting financial transaction information over a computer network, said information including details of requests for credit checks, reported credit denials, and any available reports of suspected fraudulent transactions;

performing a computer analysis on the collected information to detect possibly fraudulent activities;

compiling a computer generated list of possible victims of the detected possibly fraudulent activities;

sending the compiled list of possible victims over the computer network to at least some of the participating organizations;

comparing the list of possible victims with a respective database maintained by each of the recipient participating organizations to match and identify any potential victim with respective contact information maintained by the recipient participating organization;

using said contact information to thereby inform said matched potential victim as to the detected activities;

requesting the matched potential victim to verify whether any of the suspicious activities involved in said potential case are accurate; and

taking appropriate action based on the potential victim's response.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein said appropriate action includes:

if all the suspicious activities are verified as authentic by the potential victim, dismissing the case.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein said appropriate action includes:

if any of the suspicious activities are identified by the potential victim as inaccurate, assisting the potential victim to make appropriate notification to the source of the erroneous information.

4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

performing a further computer analysis to determine whether the detected suspicious activities related to a particular matched individual are consistent with a potential case of identity theft to the matched individual;;

informing said matched potential victim as to the detected activities that are so determined to be consistent with said potential case; and

if the potential victim verifies said potential case of identity theft, providing computerized assistance to the potential victim for limiting further use of the stolen identity.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

said collecting of information is accomplished at least in part through computerized information provided by at least credit bureaus.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

said collecting of information is at least in part accomplished indirectly through communication with agents of credit bureaus, which provide services by using the data from credit bureaus.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

said collecting of information is accomplished through at least the applicants, who may need to go through credit checks, to get some kind of approval.

8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising: if the potential victim confirms that the detected cases are fraudulent activities conducted by third parties, advising the victim to take proper actions to prevent losses and damages.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

said collecting of information is accomplished through at least merchants.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein:

the merchants are at least retail stores.

11 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

said collecting of information is accomplished through at least financial institutions.

12 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

said collecting of information is accomplished through at least government agencies.

13 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

at least one participating organization compares the list of possible victims with its member database.

14 . The method of claim 13 wherein:

the participating organization is at least a financial institution.

15 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

at least one participating organization compares the list of possible victims with its customer database.

16 . The method of claim 15 wherein:

the participating organization is a financial institution.

17 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

at least one participating organization compares the list of possible victims with its employee database.

18 . The method of claim 17 wherein:

the participating organization is at least a financial institution.

19 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

the list of possible victims is at least compared with a private database, which is established based on members of an organization that has the right to use this computerized method.

20 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the list of possible victims is at least compared with a private database, which is established based on customers of an organization that has the right to use this computerized method.

21 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

the list of possible victims is at least compared with a private database, which is established based on employees of an organization that has the right to use this computerized method.

22 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

informing the potential victim is accomplished at least through e-mail.

23 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

informing the potential victim is accomplished at least through fax.

24 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

informing the potential victim is accomplished at least through phone.

25 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

a potential victim is given permission to log into the computer system through a public network to verify the cases detected by the computer system.

26 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

a potential victim calls a service center to verify the cases detected by the computer system.

27 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

a potential victim visits a service center in person to discuss and verify the cases detected by the computer system.

28 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

a potential victim uses a self-service terminal to verify the cases detected by the computer system.

29 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has verified that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically reports the case to credit bureaus.

30 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has verified that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically reports the case to police departments.

31 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has verified that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically reports the case to government agencies.

32 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has verified that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically connects the victim to a credit bureau computer.

33 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has determined that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically connects the victim to a police department computer.

34 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has determined that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically connects the victim to a government agency computer.

35 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has determined that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically displays action guidelines to the victim.

36 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has determined that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically provides the victim with a network link to a third party for further help.

37 . The method of claim 36 wherein:

the third party is a non-profit organization.

38 . The method of claim 36 wherein:

the third party is a commercial service provider.

39 . The method of claim 36 wherein:

the third party is a law firm.

40 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has determined that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system will at least report the case to financial institutions.

41 . The method of claim 1 wherein:

once the potential victim has determined that the detected case is fraudulent, the computer system automatically reports the case to merchants.

42 . The method of claim 41 wherein:

at least some of the merchants are retail stores.

43 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

once the potential victim has verified that the detected cases are fraudulent, performing an analysis to detect related potential cases involving other potentially fraudulent activities and other potential victims.

44 . The method of claim 43 , further comprising:

using the verified cases of fraudulent activities to identify trends, patterns or other statistical information.

45 . A computerized method for using a networked computer system to maintain accurate credit and identity data associated with individuals, organizations, or other entities affiliated with participating organizations, comprising:

collecting financial transaction information over a computer network, said information including details of requests for credit checks, reported credit denials, and any available reports of suspected fraudulent transactions;

performing a computer analysis on the collected information to detect possibly fraudulent activities;

compiling a computer generated list of possible victims of the detected possibly fraudulent activities;

sending the compiled list of possible victims over the computer network to at least some of the participating organizations;

comparing the list of possible victims with a respective database maintained by each of the recipient participating organizations to match and identify any potential victim with respective contact information maintained by the recipient participating organization;

using said contact information to thereby inform said matched potential victim as to the detected activities;

requesting the matched potential victim to verify whether any of the suspicious activities involved in said potential case are accurate; and

taking appropriate action based on the potential victim's response.

performing a further computer analysis to determine whether the detected suspicious activities related to a particular matched individual are consistent with a potential case of identity theft to the matched individual;

informing said matched potential victim as to any detected activities that are so determined to be consistent with said potential case; and

if the potential victim verifies said potential case of identity theft, providing computerized assistance to the potential victim for limiting further use of the stolen identity. wherein

said appropriate action includes if all the suspicious activities are verified as authentic by the potential victim, dismissing the case and if any of the suspicious activities are identified by the potential victim as inaccurate, assisting the potential victim to make appropriate notification to the source of the erroneous information. and if the detected cases are fraudulent activities conducted by third parties, helping the victim take proper actions to prevent losses and damages, and reporting the cases to participating organizations, which can take proper actions to prevent losses and damages that could be caused by the identity theft or fraudulent activities related to the said victim;

the collecting of said information is accomplished through at least one or more organizations selected from the group consisting essentially of credit bureaus, the agents of credit bureaus which provide services by using the data from credit bureaus, the applicants who may need to go through credit checks to get some kind of approval, and merchants including retail stores, financial institutions, and government agencies;

the list of possible victims is sent to at least one participating organization, which compares the list with at least one database selected from the group consisting of a member database, a customer database, and an employee database;

the informing of said potential victim is accomplished at least through e-mail, fax, phone, or other communication methods;

said potential victim verifies the suspicious actives by logging into the computer system, calling a service center, visiting a service center in person, or using a self-service terminal;

once the potential victim has verified that the detected cases are fraudulent, the computer system will at least

report the case to credit bureaus, police departments, government agencies, financial institutions, and merchants including retail stores,

provide the victim with network links to credit bureaus, police departments, government agencies, non-profit organizations, commercial service providers, and law firms, and

provide action guidelines to the victim.

46 . The method of claim 45 , further comprising:

once the potential victim has determined that the detected cases are fraudulent, using a computer system to detect related cases, which can also be fraudulent activities, and thereby identify additional victims so that additional protective actions can also be taken to protect these additional victims.

47 . The method of claim 46 , further comprising:

using the computer system to identify trends and patterns.

48 . The method of claim 46 , further comprising:

using the computer system to identify statistical information.