Managing spoofed calls to mobile devices

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for managing spoofed calls to a mobile device are described, wherein the mobile device receives calls transmitted via a cellular or mobile network. The call may include a set of information associated with the network, such as a geographic location of a device making the call, a hardware device identifier corresponding to the device, an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the device, or a combination thereof. The mobile device may determine whether the call is spoofed or genuine based on the set of information. The mobile device may then assist a user of the mobile device in managing the call, such as blocking the call from reaching the user, informing the user that the call is spoofed, prompting the user to report the call as spoofed to authorities and / or a service provider of the network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to mobile devices, and more particularly to managing spoofed calls to mobile devices. Background Art

[0002] Mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones) are widely deployed to connect users around the world. However, this connectivity may allow third parties without legitimate reasons to call users (e.g., unwanted sales or promotional calls) and / or third parties with illicit intent to defraud users (e.g., by deceiving or falsely inducing users to believe that an emergency requires their immediate attention). In some cases, such third parties may simulate or otherwise fabricate various information (e.g., nicknames, phone numbers of the user's contact list) to be presented on the user's mobile device in order to get the user to answer their call. It would be beneficial for the user if the mobile device could identify such calls to protect the user and / or help the user manage such calls. Summary of the invention

[0003] On the one hand, the present application provides a method, which includes: receiving a call transmitted via a cellular network at a mobile device, the call including a set of cellular information; determining whether the call is spoofed or genuine based at least in part on the set of cellular information; based on the determination, providing a user of the mobile device with one or more options for managing the call, the options including answering the call, rejecting the call, and sending information about the call to a third party via the cellular network; and executing the one or more options in response to receiving input from the user.

[0004] On the other hand, the present application further provides a mobile device, comprising: a receiving component configured to receive a call transmitted via a cellular network, the call including a set of cellular information; an authentication component configured to determine whether the call is spoofed or genuine based at least in part on the set of cellular information; a screen configured to provide one or more options for managing the call to a user of the mobile device and receive input from the user; and a transmission component configured to transmit a telephone number corresponding to the call and the set of cellular information to an authority, a service provider of the cellular network, or both in response to receiving the input from the user.

[0005] On the other hand, the present application further provides a method, which includes: providing a user of a mobile device with the option of managing a list of phone numbers associated with one or more calls, wherein the one or more calls are classified as spoofed based on one or more sets of cellular information associated with the one or more calls; displaying individual phone numbers of the list together with corresponding prompts configured for the user to select for reclassification; and deleting from the list the one or more phone numbers selected by the user for reclassification. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 A communication system that supports managing spoofed calls to a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present technology is schematically illustrated.

[0007] Figure 2 Example screens of a mobile device that support managing spoofed calls are shown in accordance with embodiments of the present technology.

[0008] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a mobile device that supports managing fraudulent calls according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0009] Figure 4 and 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of managing spoofed calls to a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones) provide a convenient way to connect users in a variety of business and / or personal settings. However, the convenience of mobile devices can be reduced by unwanted calls from third parties that, for example, seek to sell or promote their products, deceive users by presenting false information, or by disguising themselves as legitimate entities (e.g., mortgage banks, credit card companies) or government agencies or authorities (e.g., federal student loan agencies, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security). Such actions to hide the true identity of the caller by disguising a phone call (or other form of communication, such as an email or text message) as a call from a trusted source may be referred to as spoofing.

[0011] In some cases, the spoofed call may be configured to display a legitimate or real identification (e.g., mortgage bank, IRS) as the source of the call on the user's mobile device to induce the user to answer the call. In some cases, the spoofed call may use a false phone number (which may be referred to as a spoofed phone number) as the source of the call by simulating a trusted phone number (e.g., a phone number of valid contact information stored in the mobile device), wherein the false phone number is generated by changing a few digits of the trusted phone number so that the false phone number may appear to be only slightly different from the original phone number. Some users may be deceived by the similar appearance displayed on their mobile devices and answer the spoofed call. In some cases, the spoofed call may be configured to display a valid nickname of the user's contact list to reduce the user's vigilance and deceive the user into answering the spoofed call.

[0012] Several embodiments of the present technology facilitate mobile devices to identify incoming spoofed calls based on various information associated with spoofed calls, so that the mobile device can assist users in managing spoofed calls, for example, blocking spoofed calls from reaching users, providing various notifications to assist users in determining whether to answer calls that may be spoofed, and prompting users to report spoofed calls to government authorities (or regulatory agencies) and / or the service provider of the mobile device. In some embodiments, a mobile device may receive a call transmitted via a wireless network (which may be referred to as a mobile network or cellular network), wherein the call includes a set of information associated with the cellular or mobile network that transmits the call. For example, the set of information may include the geographic location of the device that generated the call (source device), which may be determined by a global positioning system (GPS), a hardware device identifier corresponding to the source device, an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the source device, etc. Subsequently, the mobile device may determine whether the call is spoofed or genuine based on the set of information associated with the cellular or mobile network.

[0013] In some cases, the hardware device identifier may include an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), an Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID), a Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), etc. For example, if the group information includes an IMEI, the mobile device may determine that the IMEI of the source device of the incoming call matches the IMEI of the source device associated with past spoofed calls that the mobile device has accumulated. In this way, if the group information includes various forms of hardware device identifiers (e.g., IMEI, ICCID, MEID, IMSI), the mobile device may determine whether the incoming call is spoofed or genuine based on the group information associated with the cellular or mobile network that transmitted the incoming call.

[0014] For example, the mobile device may determine that the location of the source device is within a certain distance from one or more locations associated with spoofed calls that the mobile device has received prior to the call (i.e., past spoofed calls). The distance (e.g., less than five (5) meters with a 75% confidence level, less than ten (10) meters with a 90% confidence level, etc.) may be designed to result in the location corresponding to one or more locations associated with past spoofed calls (e.g., within a range of error or error range) so that the mobile device can determine whether the call is spoofed or genuine. In other examples, the mobile device may determine that a hardware device identifier (e.g., IMEI, ICCID, MEID, IMSI) of the source device corresponds to one of the hardware device identifiers associated with past spoofed calls.

[0015] In yet another example, the mobile device may determine that the IP address of the source device includes a common segment with one or more IP addresses associated with past spoofed calls. The common segment may be designed to result in the IP address of the source device corresponding to one of the IP addresses associated with past spoofed calls (e.g., within a range of error or range of error), for example, fifty (50) or more percent of the digits included in the IP address of the source device match one of the IP addresses associated with past spoofed calls, where the digits of the IP address may be in binary, decimal, or hexadecimal. In some cases, the mobile device may change the common segment to be used (e.g., dynamically determined) based on the past history of mobile networks that the mobile device has accumulated, for example, some mobile networks may be more prone to generating spoofed calls than other mobile networks. In some cases, multiple phone numbers may be assigned (or otherwise generated) based on a single IP address. Thus, the mobile device may be configured to effectively block (or manage) multiple spoofed calls with different phone numbers based on the IP addresses of the different phone numbers.

[0016] Similarly, the mobile device may determine the commonality of a media access control address (MAC address) associated with the source device to include one or more MAC addresses associated with past spoofed calls. Typically, a MAC address may include forty-eight (48) binary bits (or six (6) groups of two hexadecimal digits). The commonality may be designed for the mobile device to determine that the MAC address of the source device corresponds to one of the MAC addresses associated with past spoofed calls (e.g., within a range of error or range of error), e.g., fifty (50) or more percent of the binary digits (or hexadecimal digits) included in the MAC address of the source device matches one of the MAC addresses associated with past spoofed calls. In some cases, the mobile device may change the commonality to be used (e.g., dynamically determined) based on the past history of mobile networks that the mobile device has accumulated, e.g., some mobile networks may be more prone to generating spoofed calls than other mobile networks.

[0017] In addition, the mobile device may provide one or more options for managing the call to the user of the mobile device based on the determination. For example, when the mobile device determines that the call is real (which may become a false determination based on the error range used to make this determination), the mobile device may display a first option to prompt the user to answer the call, together with the phone number associated with the call in some cases. In addition, the mobile device may add the phone number to a list of recent phone numbers received by the mobile device after the user answers the call. Additionally or alternatively, when the mobile device determines that the call is spoofed (which may also become a false determination based on the error range used to make this determination), the mobile device may display a second option to prompt the user to report the call (e.g., phone number, the group information associated with the network) to the authorities (e.g., the Federal Communications Commission), the service provider of the cellular network (or wireless network). In addition, after the user chooses to report the call, the mobile device may add the phone number to a list of spoofed phone numbers stored in the mobile device. Similarly, the mobile device may store the group information associated with the network in a memory of the mobile device, the memory being configured to store multiple groups of information associated with the network that transmitted the spoofed call.

[0018] In some embodiments, the mobile device may include a neural network component (and / or an artificial intelligence component) that is capable of training itself based on the user's past responses to calls that may be spoofed, which responses may be accumulated over time. In this way, the margin of error associated with determining that a call is spoofed (or real) may be improved (e.g., reduced). In some cases, the mobile device may estimate a confidence metric in conjunction with the neural network component (and / or artificial intelligence component) while determining that a call is spoofed, for example, based on the set of information associated with the network that transmitted the call. When the confidence metric associated with the determination is less than a threshold, the mobile device may display a notification on its screen that informs the user that the call may be real (or spoofed). The mobile device may then wait for the user to respond, such as answering the call, ignoring the call, reporting the phone number to the authorities, etc. Thus, the mobile device may be considered to be operating in a supervised mode. Conversely, when the confidence metric is greater than a threshold, the mobile device may autonomously block the call (and inform the user of this determination and blocking the call) or display another notification that informs the user that the call is spoofed. Thus, the mobile device may be considered to be operating in an unsupervised mode.

[0019] Figure 1 A wireless communication system that supports managing spoofed calls to mobile devices according to an embodiment of the present technology is presented in FIG. Figure 2 Describes example screens of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present technology. Figure 3 Provides a detailed description of the mobile device that supports the management of spoofed calls. Figure 4 and 5A flow chart illustrating a method of managing spoofed calls to a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology is described.

[0020] Figure 1 A communication network diagram 100 that supports managing spoofed calls according to an embodiment of the present technology is schematically illustrated. Diagram 100 includes a mobile device 110 (which may be referred to as a user equipment, such as a cellular phone, a handheld device, a personal electronic device, etc.), a wireless communication link 115, an intermediate communication system 120, a communication channel 125, and a source device 130. The wireless communication link 115 couples the mobile device 110 with the intermediate communication system 120, thereby facilitating downlink (DL) transmissions (from the intermediate communication system 120 to the mobile device 110) and uplink (UL) transmissions (from the mobile device 110 to the intermediate communication system 120). In some embodiments, the mobile device 110, the wireless communication link 115, and the intermediate communication system 120 may be collectively referred to as a cellular network, a wireless network, or a mobile network. For example, the intermediate communication system 120 may include a base station coupled to a core network that supports the cellular network. In other examples, intermediate communication system 120 may include a wireless access point that couples one or more Wi-Fi devices (including mobile device 110) with a wired network, such as an Internet Protocol (IP)-based voice telephony system.

[0021] Source device 130 may be coupled to intermediate communication system 120 via communication channel 125, which may be wireless or wired. For example, source device 130 may be another mobile device (e.g., user equipment) coupled to intermediate communication system 120 via communication channel 125 (e.g., a wireless communication link). In other examples, source device 130 may be an electronic device (e.g., a phone, a computer configured to make a large number of calls in a short period of time) connected to intermediate communication system 120 via communication channel 125 (e.g., a landline, a cable, or a combination of wired and wireless connections including a Wi-Fi access point). In some embodiments, intermediate communication system 120 may collect various information about source device 130, such as the geographic location of source device 130, the IP address (or MAC address) of source device 130, the hardware device identifier (e.g., IMEI, ICCID, MEID, IMSI) of source device 130, etc. In some cases, the geographic location may be determined by a global positioning system (GPS). Furthermore, intermediate communication system 120 may include such information about source device 130 in a DL transmission to mobile device 110 (eg, a phone call to mobile device 110 ) via wireless communication link 115 .

[0022] Thus, the mobile device 110 may receive a call transmitted via the wireless communication link 115, the call including a set of information associated with a cellular or mobile network, the set of information including information about the source device 130, i.e., the set of information associated with the network may include various information about the source device 130. The mobile device 110 may determine whether the call is spoofed or genuine based at least in part on the set of information included in the call (or the set of information received in conjunction with the call or otherwise associated with the call). For example, the mobile device 110 may include a memory that stores a list of telephone numbers associated with spoofed calls (e.g., past spoofed calls) that the mobile device 110 has received. In addition, the memory may be configured to store multiple sets of information included in past spoofed calls (e.g., geographic locations of source devices associated with past spoofed calls, hardware device identifiers of source devices that generated past spoofed calls, and IP addresses of source devices that generated past spoofed calls). In some embodiments, the mobile device 110 may compare the hardware device identifier of the source device 130 with a list of hardware device identifiers of source devices that generated past spoofed calls. Mobile device 110 may then determine that one of the hardware device identifiers stored in memory matches the hardware device identifier of the call, i.e., the call is spoofed even though the call may display a legitimate phone number (e.g., one of the phone numbers in the user's contact list).

[0023] In some embodiments, mobile device 110 may compare the geographic location of source device 130 to the geographic locations of source devices associated with past spoofed calls. Mobile device 110 may then determine that one of the geographic locations corresponds to the geographic location associated with the call (e.g., the geographic location is within a certain distance from one or more geographic locations associated with past spoofed calls), i.e., the call is spoofed even though the call may display a legitimate phone number (e.g., one of the phone numbers in the user's contact list). This distance may be designed to result in the geographic location corresponding to one or more geographic locations within a certain error range. The error range may depend on various factors, such as the accuracy of a global positioning system (GPS) that determines the geographic location of source device 130 and / or determines the locations of other source devices that made past spoofed calls, uncertainty associated with determining the geographic location of source device 130, which may be a mobile device, etc.

[0024] In some embodiments, mobile device 110 may compare the IP address of source device 130 with the IP addresses of source devices that generated previous spoofed calls. Mobile device 110 may then determine that one of the source device's IP addresses corresponds to the IP address of the call, i.e., the call is spoofed even though the call may display a legitimate phone number (e.g., one of the phone numbers in the user's contact list). In some cases, mobile device 110 may determine that the IP address of source device 130 shares a common segment with one of the IP addresses associated with the previous spoofed call. In some cases, the common segment may be designed to result in the IP address corresponding to one or more IP addresses associated with the previous spoofed call, e.g., the IP address and the one or more IP addresses associated with the previous spoofed call contain fifty (50) or more percent of the digits within a certain error range. The digits may be binary, decimal, or hexadecimal based on the format in which the IP address is constructed. The error range may depend on various factors, such as the percentage of digits used (e.g., 50%, 60%, 70%, or even higher), the information contained in the IP address (e.g., the region, city, and / or town of the source device), etc.

[0025] In some embodiments, mobile device 110 may include a neural network component that can learn (and / or infer) from input from a user (e.g., a user of mobile device 110) in response to receiving a call that may be spoofed. This neural network component may be configured to train itself based on past responses of the user accumulated over time. When sufficiently trained, mobile device 110 may autonomously determine which calls will be identified and / or blocked as spoofed calls without user input on how to manage calls identified as spoofed. When the neural network component requires more training, mobile device 110 may assist the user in determining whether to answer the call in conjunction with the neural network component. In some cases, the neural network component may include an artificial intelligence engine or algorithm that is configured to perceive certain patterns (or anomalies) in spoofed calls (and / or in the set of information included in the spoofed calls) so that mobile device 110 may increase the confidence level in identifying and / or determining certain calls as spoofed in conjunction with the neural network component, such as reducing the margin of error associated with such identification and / or determination.

[0026] In some embodiments, the mobile device 110 may estimate a confidence metric in conjunction with a neural network component included in the mobile device 110 in some cases, while determining that a call received by the mobile device 110 is spoofed (or real) based on a set of information included in the call. When the confidence metric is greater than a threshold, the mobile device 110 may inform the user that the call is a spoofed call (and block the call). In this regard, the mobile device 110 operates in an unsupervised mode, in which the mobile device 110 is used to spontaneously identify the call as spoofed and block the call from reaching the user without the user's input (or response). In other cases, the mobile device 110 may determine that the estimated confidence metric is less than a threshold. In such cases, the mobile device 110 may display options for the user to select (e.g., answer the call, report the call as a spoofed call, ignore the call), as well as a notification informing the user that the call may be spoofed (or real). In this regard, the mobile device 110 operates in a supervised mode, in which the mobile device 110 operates based on a response (or input) from the user.

[0027] Figure 2 An example screen of a mobile device supporting management of fraudulent calls according to an embodiment of the present technology is shown. Figure 1 As described, a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110) may determine whether a call is spoofed or real based at least in part on a set of information included in the call. In addition, the mobile device may display one or more options and / or notifications to the user of the mobile device to manage the call. In some embodiments, the options may include answering the call, rejecting (e.g., refusing, ignoring, silencing, ending without answering) the call, sending information about the call (e.g., a set of cellular information associated with the call) to a third party (e.g., a government authority, a service provider of a cellular network). Various aspects of managing spoofed calls are described below with reference to example screens of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[0028] As depicted in the first screen 205, the mobile device 110 may display a phone number corresponding to the call, a first input area 220, and a second input area 225 on its screen. The first input area 220 may be configured to accept a user's input to answer the call. The second input area 225 may be configured to accept a user's input to report the phone number and the group information contained in the call to an authority (e.g., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Consumer Protection Agency), a service provider of a cellular network (or wireless network) that transmits the call, or both. When the user selects the second input area 225, the mobile device 110 transmits the phone number and / or the group information to the authority and / or service provider. In addition, after transmitting the phone number and the group information, the mobile device 110 may add the phone number to a list of spoofed phone numbers stored therein. Additionally or alternatively, after transmitting the phone number and the group cellular information, the mobile device 110 may store the group information in a memory of the mobile device 110, the memory being configured to store multiple groups of information associated with a spoofed phone number (i.e., a spoofed call).

[0029] In some cases, authorities may determine to take certain corrective actions (e.g., assessing a fine against an individual or entity that generated the spoofed calls) based on the list of spoofed phone numbers and / or the group information (e.g., GPS location, hardware device identifier, IP address) reported as associated with (or included in) spoofed calls. Also, service providers may provide warnings to their subscribers when potentially spoofed calls are transmitted to subscribers, such as calls generated using spoofed phone numbers, calls associated with GPS locations, hardware device identifiers, and / or IP addresses (or MAC addresses), calls that have been reported by users (subscribers) as associated with (or included in) spoofed calls. In some cases, service providers may block suspicious calls (e.g., spoofed calls) from reaching subscribers based on the list of spoofed phone numbers and / or the group information included in spoofed calls.

[0030] In addition, the first screen 205 may include additional options for the user (not depicted in the first screen 205). For example, the first screen 205 may include an option to ignore the call (or pass the call to the voice messaging application of the mobile device 110), i.e., neither answer nor report the call. In this way, the user may allow the caller to leave a voice message so that the user can later determine whether the call is real, irrelevant (e.g., sales talk left in the voice message), or spoofed based on the content of the voice message or the lack thereof. Additionally, in certain circumstances, such as when the mobile device 110 is operating in a supervised mode of operation, the first screen 205 may include an additional notification to the user (e.g., in a third area, not shown) that the call may be real (or spoofed), as well as a confidence metric estimated when making this determination.

[0031] In some embodiments, mobile device 110 may monitor how a user categorizes calls based on voice messages, e.g., when the user does not have student loans, the user determines that the call is spoofed based on a voice message stating “This is about your student federal loans.” After the user determines the call as spoofed and responds to the call (e.g., reports the call as spoofed to government authorities and / or service providers), mobile device 110 may update its spoofed phone number list to include the phone number of the call and / or store the group information included in the call that the user believes to be spoofed in a memory of mobile device 110. Subsequently, mobile device 110 may block additional calls from the phone number and / or block additional calls based on the group information included in the call, e.g., blocking additional calls with different phone numbers but including the same information (e.g., geographic location, hardware device identifier, IP address, or a combination thereof) about the source device (e.g., source device 130) that generated the call.

[0032] In some embodiments, when the user selects the first input area of ​​the first screen 205, that is, the user decides to answer the call, the mobile device 110 may add the phone number (e.g., the phone number displayed on the first screen 205) to a list of recent phone numbers received by the mobile device 110. However, the user may find that the call is a spoofed call or an illegal call (e.g., a sales or promotional call). Thereafter, the user may want to report the call to the authorities and / or service provider. After the user ends the call, the mobile device 110 may display the phone number on the screen, wherein the phone number is accompanied by a prompt that indicates to the user that the call is spoofed. Once the user indicates that the call is spoofed, the mobile device 110 may add the phone number to a list of spoofed phone numbers stored in the mobile device 110. In addition, the mobile device 110 may store the group information contained in the call in a memory of the mobile device 110, the memory being configured to store multiple groups of information contained in the spoofed call.

[0033] Additionally or alternatively, as depicted in the second screen 210, after the user ends the call, the mobile device 110 may display a list of recent phone numbers including the phone number (determined by the user to be spoofed) on the screen. The second screen 210 also depicts that individual phone numbers are associated with corresponding prompts (e.g., prompts 230a to 230c). Each prompt provides an option for the user to select to report the phone number and the group information to the authorities and / or service provider.

[0034] The third screen 215 shows that the mobile device 110 can display a notification 240 on its screen to inform the user that the incoming call is a spoofed call. For example, when the mobile device 110 determines that the call is spoofed (or real) based on the set of information contained in the call, the mobile device 110 can estimate a confidence metric. In addition, the mobile device 110 can determine that the confidence metric is greater than a threshold. In such a case, the mobile device 110 displays a notification 240 to inform the user that the incoming call is a spoofed call. In addition or alternatively, the mobile device 110 can spontaneously block the incoming call from reaching the user. In some embodiments, the third screen 215 may include the phone number of the incoming call, as depicted in the first screen 205. In some cases, the third screen 215 shows the mobile device 110 operating in an unsupervised mode (e.g., a mobile device 110 operating without user input and / or response), and a neural network component that can be trained based on the user's past responses to calls that may be spoofed.

[0035] Figure 3 300 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a mobile device supporting management of fraudulent calls according to an embodiment of the present technology. FIG. 300 includes a mobile device 305, which may be a reference Figure 1 and 2Examples of aspects of mobile device 110 described may include the aspects.Mobile device 305 of diagram 300 includes wireless communication component 310 including transmission component 315 and reception component 320, authentication component 325, memory 330, and screen 335.

[0036] The receiving component 320 may be configured to receive a signal transmitted via a cellular network (eg, Figure 1 The call may be transmitted over a cellular, wireless or mobile network (described above), wherein the mobile device 305 is coupled (e.g., linked) to the intermediate communication system 120 via the wireless communication link 115. The call may include a set of information associated with the cellular network, such as the geographic location, hardware device identifier and / or IP address of the source device 130 generating the call.

[0037] The authentication component 325 can be configured to determine whether the call is spoofed or genuine based at least in part on the set of information contained in the call. In some cases, the authentication component 325 can compare the set of information to multiple sets of information contained in previous spoofed calls that the mobile device 305 has stored in the memory 330. Also, the mobile device 305 can store a list of spoofed phone numbers in the memory 330 and update the list (e.g., add to the list) when the mobile device 305 receives additional spoofed calls, which can be based on the user's input (e.g., when the user selects the second input area 225 to report the phone number as spoofed) or the mobile device 305's own determination (e.g., when the mobile device 305 selects the second input area 225 to report the phone number as spoofed) as described in reference to FIG. Figure 2 In some embodiments, the authentication component 325 can be configured to estimate a confidence metric while determining that the call is spoofed (or genuine) based on the group information. In this regard, the mobile device 305 can include a neural network component 340 configured to improve the confidence interval based on input from the user accumulated over time.

[0038] In addition, the mobile device 305 may display the spoofed phone numbers in the list to the user (e.g., on screen 335) so that the user can check the list to see if one or more phone numbers classified as spoofed are actually legitimate phone numbers from which the user wants to receive calls. In some cases, the phone numbers that the user wants to reclassify (e.g., remove from the spoofed phone number list) may include phone numbers of legitimate business entities associated with the user (e.g., the user's bank, a specific store where the user maintains business). In some cases, valid contacts (and / or their phone numbers) in the user's contact list may have been abused (e.g., used to disguise or otherwise hide the true identity of the caller who made the spoofed call) and have been classified as spoofed as a result. Therefore, the user may want to reclassify such valid contacts (and / or their phone numbers) (e.g., remove from the spoofed phone number list) so that the user can continue to receive calls from such valid contacts. In some cases, individual phone numbers of the list may be displayed on screen 335, along with corresponding prompts configured for the user to select to reclassify the individual phone numbers. Thereafter, the mobile device 305 may delete such phone numbers that the user selected to reclassify from the spoofed phone number list.

[0039] Figure 4 4 is a flowchart 400 illustrating a method for managing fraudulent calls to a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present technology. Flowchart 400 may be a flowchart of a mobile device (eg, mobile device 110, mobile device 305) as shown in FIG. Figures 1 to 3 Examples of aspects of the method described and performed may include the aspects.

[0040] The method includes receiving, at a mobile device, a call transmitted via a cellular network, the call including a set of cellular information (block 410). According to one aspect of the present technology, the receiving feature of block 410 may be performed by a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110, mobile device 305) in some cases in conjunction with wireless communication component 310, as described with reference to FIG. Figures 1 to 3 described.

[0041] The method further includes determining whether the call is spoofed or genuine based at least in part on the set of cellular information (block 415). According to one aspect of the present technology, the determination feature of block 415 can be performed by a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110, mobile device 305) in some cases in conjunction with authentication component 325, as described in reference to Figures 1 to 3 described.

[0042] The method further includes providing, based on the determination, one or more options for managing the call to a user of the mobile device, the options including answering the call, rejecting the call, and sending information about the call to a third party via a cellular network (block 420). According to one aspect of the present technology, the providing feature of block 420 can be performed by a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110, mobile device 305) in some cases in conjunction with screen 335, as shown in reference to Figures 1 to 3 described.

[0043] The method further includes executing one or more options in response to receiving input from the user (block 425). According to one aspect of the present technology, the execution feature of block 425 can be executed by a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110, mobile device 305), as described in reference to Figures 1 to 3 described.

[0044] In some embodiments, providing the user with one or more options for managing the call includes displaying a phone number corresponding to the call, a first input area, and a second input area on a screen of the mobile device, wherein the first input area is configured to accept an input corresponding to answering the call, and the second input area is configured to accept an input corresponding to reporting the phone number and the set of cellular information to authorities, a service provider of a cellular network, or both. In some embodiments, executing the one or more options includes transmitting the phone number and the set of cellular information to authorities, a service provider, or both when the user selects the second input area. In some embodiments, the method may further include, after transmitting the phone number and the set of cellular information, adding the phone number to a list of spoofed phone numbers stored in the mobile device.

[0045] In some embodiments, the method may further include, after transmitting the phone number and the set of cellular information, storing the set of cellular information to a memory of the mobile device, the memory being configured to store a plurality of sets of cellular information associated with the spoofed phone number. In some embodiments, the method may further include, when the user selects the first input area, adding the phone number to a list of recent phone numbers received by the mobile device. In some embodiments, the method may further include displaying the list of recent phone numbers including the phone number on a screen after the user ends the call, wherein at least the phone number is accompanied by a prompt configured for the user to select to report the phone number and the set of cellular information to authorities, a service provider, or both.

[0046] In some embodiments, the method may further include displaying the phone number on a screen after the user ends the call, wherein the phone number is accompanied by a prompt for indicating to the user that the phone number is spoofed. In some embodiments, the method may further include storing the set of cellular information to a memory of a mobile device, the memory being configured to store a plurality of sets of cellular information associated with phone numbers determined to be spoofed. In some embodiments, the method may further include estimating a confidence metric while determining that the call is spoofed based on the set of cellular information, and when the confidence metric is greater than a threshold, displaying a third area on the screen including a notification, the notification informing the user that the call is spoofed. In some embodiments, the method may further include estimating a confidence metric while determining that the call is spoofed based on the set of cellular information, and when the confidence metric is less than a threshold, displaying a third area on the screen in addition to the first and second input areas, the third area including a notification informing the user that the call may be authentic.

[0047] In some embodiments, the set of cellular information may include a location determined by a global positioning system (GPS), the global positioning system corresponding to the geographic location of the device generating the call, and determining whether the call is spoofed or authentic includes determining that the location is within a distance from one or more locations associated with spoofed calls received prior to the call, the distance being designed to identify the location corresponding to the one or more locations. In some embodiments, the set of cellular information includes a hardware device identifier corresponding to the device generating the call, and determining whether the call is spoofed or authentic includes determining that the hardware device identifier corresponds to one or more hardware device identifiers associated with spoofed calls received prior to the call. In some embodiments, the set of cellular information may include an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the device generating the call, and determining whether the call is spoofed or authentic includes determining that the IP address includes a common segment with one or more IP addresses associated with spoofed calls received prior to the call, the common segment being designed to identify the IP address corresponding to the one or more IP addresses.

[0048] Figure 5 5 is a flowchart 500 illustrating a method of managing fraudulent calls to a mobile device according to an embodiment of the present technology. Flowchart 500 may be a flowchart of a mobile device (eg, mobile device 110, mobile device 305) as shown in FIG. Figures 1 to 3 Examples of aspects of the method described and performed may include the aspects.

[0049] The method includes providing a user of the mobile device with an option to manage a list of telephone numbers associated with one or more calls that are classified as spoofed based on one or more sets of cellular information associated with the one or more calls (block 510). According to one aspect of the present technology, the provisioning feature of block 510 may be performed by a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110, mobile device 305) in some cases in conjunction with screen 335, as described with reference to FIG. Figures 1 to 3 described.

[0050] The method further includes displaying individual phone numbers of the list, along with corresponding prompts configured for selection by the user for reclassification (block 515). According to one aspect of the present technology, the display feature of block 515 can be performed by a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110, mobile device 305) in some cases in conjunction with screen 335, as shown in FIG. Figures 1 to 3 described.

[0051] The method further includes deleting from the list one or more telephone numbers selected by the user for reclassification (block 520). According to one aspect of the present technology, the deletion feature of block 520 can be performed by a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 110, mobile device 305) in some cases in conjunction with memory 330, as described in reference to FIG. Figures 1 to 3 described.

[0052] In some embodiments, the one or more phone numbers selected by the user for reclassification may correspond to real phone numbers stored in the mobile device that have been used to hide the identity of the caller making the one or more calls classified as spoofed. In some embodiments, the one or more phone numbers selected by the user for reclassification may be associated with a legitimate business entity of the user.

[0053] It should be noted that the methods described above describe possible embodiments, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified, and other embodiments are possible. Furthermore, embodiments from two or more of the described methods may be combined.

[0054] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. Features implementing the functions may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0055] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items preceded by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). In addition, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be understood to refer to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted similarly to the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0056] It will be appreciated from the foregoing that specific embodiments of the present invention have been described herein for illustrative purposes, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. On the contrary, in the foregoing description, numerous specific details are discussed to provide a thorough and illustrative description of embodiments of the present invention. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the present disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific details. In other cases, well-known structures or operations typically associated with memory systems and devices are not shown or described in detail to avoid confusing other aspects of the technology. In general, it should be understood that various other devices, systems, and methods other than those specific embodiments disclosed herein may be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for managing fraudulent calls, comprising: receiving, at a mobile device, a call transmitted via a cellular network, the call including a set of cellular information having a location determined by a global positioning system (GPS) corresponding to a geographic location of a device generating the call and an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the device; determining whether the call is spoofed or authentic based at least in part on the set of cellular information, wherein determining whether the call is spoofed or authentic comprises: (1) determining that the location is within a distance from one or more locations associated with spoofed calls received prior to the call, the distance being designed to identify the location corresponding to the one or more locations; and (2) determining that the IP address includes a common segment with one or more IP addresses associated with the spoofed calls, wherein the common segment is designed to result in: the IP address corresponding to one of the one or more IP addresses associated with the spoofed calls, the IP address including a percentage number that matches the one of the one or more IP addresses associated with the spoofed calls, and wherein the mobile device dynamically determines the common segment based on past history of mobile networks that the mobile device has accumulated; based on the determination, providing a user of the mobile device with one or more options for managing the call, the options comprising answering the call, rejecting the call, or sending information about the call to a third party via the cellular network; as well as The one or more options are executed in response to receiving input from the user.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the user with the one or more options for managing the call comprises: The telephone number corresponding to the call, the first input area and the second input area are displayed on the screen of the mobile device, wherein: The first input area is configured to accept the input corresponding to answering the call, and The second input area is configured to accept the input corresponding to reporting the telephone number and the set of cellular information to an authority, a service provider of the cellular network, or both.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein executing the one or more options comprises: When the user selects the second input field, the telephone number and the set of cellular information are transmitted to the authority, the service provider, or both.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: After transmitting the telephone number and the set of cellular information, the telephone number is added to a list of spoofed telephone numbers stored in the mobile device.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising: After transmitting the telephone number and the set of cellular information, the set of cellular information is stored in a memory of the mobile device, the memory being configured to store multiple sets of cellular information associated with spoofed telephone numbers.

6. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: When the user selects the first input area, the phone number is added to a list of recent phone numbers received by the mobile device.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: After the user ends the call, the recent phone number list including the phone number is displayed on the screen, wherein at least the phone number is accompanied by a prompt configured for the user to select to report the phone number and the set of cellular information to the authorities, the service provider, or both.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: After the user ends the call, the phone number is displayed on the screen, wherein the phone number is accompanied by a prompt indicating to the user that the phone number is spoofed.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: The set of cellular information is stored in a memory of the mobile device, the memory being configured to store multiple sets of cellular information associated with the telephone numbers determined to be spoofed.

10. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: estimating a confidence metric while determining that the call is spoofed based on the set of cellular information; as well as When the confidence metric is greater than a threshold, a third region is displayed on the screen containing a notification to the user that the call is fraudulent.

11. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: estimating a confidence metric while determining that the call is spoofed based on the set of cellular information; as well as When the confidence metric is less than a threshold, a third region is displayed on the screen in addition to the first and second input regions, the third region including a notification informing the user that the call may be authentic.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of cellular information includes a hardware device identifier corresponding to a device that generated the call, and determining whether the call is spoofed or genuine includes determining that the hardware device identifier corresponds to one or more hardware device identifiers associated with spoofed calls received prior to the call.

13. A mobile device, comprising: a receiving component configured to receive a call transmitted via a cellular network, the call containing a set of cellular information having a location determined by a global positioning system GPS corresponding to a geographic location of a device generating the call and an Internet Protocol IP address associated with the device; an authentication component configured to determine whether the call is spoofed or authentic based at least in part on the set of cellular information, wherein determining whether the call is spoofed or authentic comprises: (1) determining that the location is within a distance from one or more locations associated with spoofed calls received prior to the call, the distance being designed to identify the location corresponding to the one or more locations; and (2) determining that the IP address includes a common segment with one or more IP addresses associated with the spoofed calls, wherein the common segment is designed to result in: the IP address corresponding to one of the one or more IP addresses associated with the spoofed calls, the IP address including a percentage number that matches the one of the one or more IP addresses associated with the spoofed calls, and wherein the common segment is dynamically determined based on past history of mobile networks that the mobile device has accumulated; a screen configured to provide a user of the mobile device with one or more options for managing the call and to receive input from the user; as well as A transmission component is configured to transmit the telephone number corresponding to the call and the set of cellular information to an authority, a service provider of the cellular network, or both in response to receiving the input from the user.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the authentication component is further configured to estimate a confidence metric while determining that the call is spoofed based on the set of cellular information.

15. The mobile device of claim 13, further comprising: A neural network component is configured to refine a confidence interval based on input from the user accumulated over time, wherein the confidence interval is estimated while determining that the call is spoofed based on the set of cellular information.

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