Multifunction authentication systems

Abstract

A method of generating a personal authenticated transaction ticket with a registered-user redemption functionality is described. The method is inplemented using a remote transaction information device and a central authentication server. The method comprises receiving data at the remote transaction information device from a user, the data including i. a symbol key comprising at least one symbol selected from a plurality of symbols, and ii. personal information identifying the user, the personal information including at least the user name, digitising and encrypting the symbol key and the personal information, transmitting the encrypted data to the central server, receiving a unique transaction number associated with the symbol key and personal information, and providing the unique transaction number to the user as part of the transaction ticket, the unique transaction number confirming the registration of the user and the authentication of the transaction ticket with the central server.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention concerns improvements relating to multifunction authentication systems and more particularly, though not exclusively, to a system for and a method of authenticating users in a secure and robust manner but utilising a low-cost network of data input and authentication terminals, such as gaming (lottery) terminals and / or Automated Teller Machines ATM's. The present invention can be used for authenticating functions, which require the user to have an account set up and those, which do not (namely anonymous functions). The present invention can be used to support authorisation and authentication of multiple diverse functions such as money transfer, gaming, prize incentive bonds, savings for the unbanked, insurance, advance insurance payments, payroll and / or cheque payment functions, utility payments and other investments on a common low-cost authentication system.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Various different authentication systems ex...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0072]Due to security and registration issues ( ), premium bonds normally have a fixed prize. The total sales to a given moment of a normal premium bond due to its security features are not accounted for on a live basis showing the issuer in real-time how many premium bonds have been sold and therefore technically issued. Prizes, therefore, are usually a fixed defined amount rather than a percentage of the prize pool designated on a real-time basis. For these reasons there is at present no present system which allows for on-line real-time accounting for sales that would allow for a calculation of funds available for prizes as a percentage of actual sales and an actual updating of prize size as ongoing sales took place. This means that conventional premium bond purchases are not exposed to the marketing phenomenon caused by the prize pool growing with purchases during the sales period, which in turn, causes an increase in the propensity to buy, incremental with the increase in the price pool. This problem of lack of real-time accounting for the total sales and, therefore, the total available prize pool, is addressed by the present invention by the provision of a computer-based real-time book-entry system which allows for a dramatic shortening of the accounting cycle.

[0073]Rollover prizes also require a correlation between the serial numbers on the premium bonds issued to be made with the serial number of the prize draw, such that if there is a discrepancy, a rollover has occurred. This means that with a premium bond, normally in the period between the end of the prize draw date and the commencement of a new set of sales, there isn't sufficient time to examine the records of all bonds sold up to the prize draw period and calculate whether or not the prize draw number corresponds with the serial number of a bond sold. A real-time full accounted system, which is enabled by the present invention, allows for this calculation on an immediate basis between the end of one prize draw period and the commencement of a new prize draw / sales period. The discovery that there is a possibility of no winning number allows for what is known as a ‘rollover’ whereby a previous sales period's prize is added to a new sales period's prize. This doubling of potential prize can mean a huge increase in sales propensity in the new sales period where there is a rollover.

[0074]Rollovers can also occur unintentionally as an unavoidable product of a security feature rather than an intentional sales device. This security feature is having the numbers for the prize draw attributable to the prize draw instrument, here the premium bond, unknown to the prize draw mechanism which typically would be a random selection from the combination of numbers available for customer selection as opposed to from the numbers actually selected by the totality of customers. The security feature of having two random events totally divorced from each other and incapable of linkage would be to avoid organisational fraud on an insider basis on a large scale. Otherwise organisations involved in the draw function who could know the customer actual draw numbers could preselect who they want to win form a list of favourites or even intentionally rig the process so no one outsider would actually be winning, only insiders.

Problems solved by technology

Typically, the process of purchasing these types of instruments takes a considerable amount of time as not only do many details have to be provided but also supporting documentation to prove the user's identity and place of residence; such verification documents can be birth certificates, passports, identity cards, and utility bills.

A further problem with providing personal details, for example a user's name and initial and possible address, is that these details whilst useful for registration purposes, are commonly available (sometimes outside the country of issue / residence) and are susceptible to change.

Thus, users typically change address over a long period of time such as 20 years.

This can lead to a fraud opportunity of an unscrupulous person changing their name by deed poll to the name of the valid user who purchased the ticket, for example and thereafter seeking to redeem the value of the ticket on maturity.

There is, of course, also the common and prevalent problem with forged documents being used by such unscrupulous people to ‘prove’ their stolen identity and thereby obtain access to an account and funds.

This problem stems from the reliance upon the proof of identity documents to validate a person's identity with out any further cross-check with for example a central authority being required.

Therefore, a lottery ticket typically can be printed cheaply on thermographic paper, which degrades on average within a year because the lottery ticket will only have a functional validity life for around six months.

The difficulty with these types of authentication is that their users often forget the PIN or password particularly when there is a need to remember several different PINs and passwords for different systems.

As such, either the authentication requires a secure password / PIN carrier e.g. credit card / debit card that stores the password / PIN in an encrypted format for use with a complimentary password / PIN reader terminal and which carrier and terminal are highly expensive, or the PIN or password can be guessed through trial and error and as such the security can be compromised.

This can in particular lead to long-term financial instruments being more vulnerable to bulk system hacking.

Furthermore, existing authentication systems and methods are typically not well suited to the blind or illiterate.

Also even for literate people, some of them may not be able to or desire to have a bank account and this can cause difficulties in some authentication systems and methods when seeking to acquire a financial instrument or take part in a financial transaction.

However, a significant proportion, if not the majority of the world's population, do not have a mother tongue which is based on Latin script and so use of current authentication systems is either not useable or requires assistance (which may compromise security).

Often, there will be a mix between Latin script being used on the central server authentication system and local scripts being used at the terminal interface in such a way that transliteration errors can and do occur.

Therefore it is highly desirable to have a unified system of security that makes it uneconomic, impractical or impossible for insiders or outsiders to fraudulently access an otherwise secure system via the weakest link of an insecure and relatively permeable backdoor.

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