Management of toll-free number misuse and fraud detection
Methods and systems for providing a rating system that allow for customers to create a database of toll-free numbers that are abused by malicious consumers which may be cloud-based and allow for service providers to dip prior to completing or accepting calls.
1. A method comprising:
storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may occur regarding the usage of a toll-free telecommunications number;
storing a rule regarding an action to take upon receipt of a reported abuse event, wherein the rule specifies a routing rule defining how a call that is associated with the abuse event is to be routed over a toll-free telecommunications system without blocking the call;
receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free telecommunications number;
identifying at least one abuse event within the stored taxonomy and routing rule that is related to content of the abuse report; and
automatically routing a call that is the subject of the abuse report according to the routing rule associated with the abuse event to complete the call.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse derives from a call center.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse derives from a telecommunications carrier.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse derives from a business entity.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the routing rule is integrated within a call routing template.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the call routing template is shared with an entity other than that generating the report of abuse.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the routing of the call is manual instead of automatic.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a responsible organization.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a time of the abuse event.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to an originating number.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a geographic location of an originating number.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report of abuse includes data relating to a geographic location of a terminating number.
13. A method comprising:
receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free telecommunications number;
identifying an absence of an abuse event definition within a stored taxonomy that is related to the type of abuse reported;
storing a new definition of the abuse event within the taxonomy;
creating a routing rule defining how a call that is associated with the abuse event is to be routed over a toll-free telecommunications system and without blocking the call.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the routing rule specifies an alternate terminating number to which to route an incoming call.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein another routing rule prevents further call routing over a corresponding toll-free telecommunications number.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the stored definition is further associated with third party industry data.
17. A method comprising:
storing a taxonomy of abuse events that may occur regarding the usage of a toll-free telecommunications number;
associating each of the abuse events in the taxonomy with a corresponding toll-free telecommunications number rating action;
receiving a report of abuse of a toll-free telecommunications number;
identifying at least one abuse event within the stored taxonomy and corresponding rating action that is related to content of the abuse report;
automatically computing a rating for the toll-free telecommunications number based on the rating action; and
reporting the rating to an entity interested in obtaining a toll-free communications number.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the rating is associated with a call routing rule.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the call routing rule is shared with a service provider.
20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the rating is used as metadata to tag the toll-free telecommunications number.
21. The method of claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:
receiving a call matching the abuse event within the stored taxonomy and routing rule that is related to content of the report of abuse; and
automatically routing the call according to the routing rule associated with the abuse event to complete the call.
22. The method of claim 17 , when the rating is a nonbinary rating.