Point of Sale Device Authenticity Verification via Blockchain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumers lack a reliable method to verify the authenticity of point of sale devices, making them vulnerable to fraud from spoofed or compromised devices, which can capture transaction account details without physical alteration, leading to unauthorized access.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using a blockchain to authenticate point of sale devices by storing transaction data, where consumers submit a request to a remote server, which queries the blockchain for transaction history and geographic data to determine an authenticity value indicating the likelihood of fraudulent activity, providing a secure assessment before proceeding with a transaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If consumers physically inspect the point of sale device to look for suspicious features, then they may identify some compromised devices, but this method is insufficient because many fraud techniques do not involve physical alterations and consumers lack knowledge of what to look for
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote server as an intermediary between the consumer and the point of sale device verification. The server receives authentication requests from consumers, queries the blockchain for transaction history and geographic data, determines authenticity values, and returns results to consumers. This intermediary handles the complex verification process, making it accessible to consumers without requiring them to understand or perform complex inspection procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual physical inspection with automated electronic verification. Instead of consumers physically examining devices for suspicious features, the system uses electronic authentication requests, blockchain queries, and automated analysis of transaction data and geographic information to determine device authenticity, substituting mechanical inspection with digital verification processes.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If no authentication method is provided, then consumers can easily use fraudulent devices without awareness, but implementing verification increases system complexity and requires additional infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The remote server acts as an intermediary that consumers can access through simple interfaces (mobile apps, websites) to perform authentication. The complex blockchain queries, data analysis, and authenticity determination are handled by the server, while consumers only need to submit requests and receive results, minimizing the complexity burden on the consumer side.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy/representation of the point of sale device's authenticity status by querying its identifier against the blockchain. Instead of requiring consumers to physically verify device properties, the system retrieves and analyzes a digital representation of the device's transaction history and geographic data, providing verification without direct physical interaction.
3Loss of information
If consumers are provided with more information about device authenticity, then they can make better decisions, but gathering and processing verification data increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential authenticity indicators from the blockchain data - specifically the transaction history (number of approved and denied transactions) and geographic location information. Rather than providing consumers with all raw blockchain data, the server processes and extracts the most relevant metrics (authenticity values based on transaction patterns and location matching), reducing information complexity while maintaining decision-making utility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms raw blockchain data into meaningful authenticity parameters. The server converts transaction counts into authenticity scores, compares geographic coordinates to determine location consistency, and synthesizes these parameters into overall authenticity values that consumers can easily interpret for decision-making.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for determining authenticity of a point of sale device includes: storing a blockchain and point of sale identifier pair, wherein the blockchain is comprised of a plurality of blocks, each comprised of a block header and transaction data values, each transaction data value corresponding to a payment transaction involving a point of sale device associated with the point of sale identifier and includes an indication of approval or denial for the payment transaction; receiving a fraud probability request, the request including the point of sale identifier; identifying a number of transaction data values that include an indication of denial; determine an authenticity value indicating a likelihood that the point of sale device is engaged in fraudulent activity based on a registered latitude and longitude of the point of sale device, the number of transaction data values, and additional criteria; and transmitting the determined authenticity value.