Cellular telephone anti-fraud system

Claim 2

The transmitter identification system of claim 1 further comprising: historic security pattern storing means for storing historic security patterns for a plurality of transmitters; and first comparing means connected to said converting means and said historic security pattern storing means for comparing said security pattern of said one of said transmitters to said plurality of historic security patterns stored in said historic security pattern storing means.

Claim 3

The transmitter identification system of claim 2 wherein said first comparing means generates a confidence level indicating a likelihood that said one of said transmitters also generated one of said historic security patterns.

Claim 4

The transmitter identification system of claim 3 wherein said confidence level generated by said first comparing means indicates a mismatch condition, a possible mismatch condition, and a match condition.

Claim 5

Apparatus for identifying wireless subscriber units and for granting or denying access to a subscriber service comprising: a plurality of wireless subscriber units each for generating a wireless subscriber signal including internal data traits and external signal traits, and each for receiving a transmitter/receiver signal, wherein said internal data traits include an identification code; receiving and transmitting means located remote from said wireless subscriber units for receiving said wireless subscriber signal and for transmitting the transmitter/receiver signal; characterizing means connected to said receiving and transmitting means for characterizing one of said wireless subscriber units and for generating a plurality of characterizing signals for said one wireless subscriber unit, wherein the characterizing means generates said plurality of characterizing signals by measuring features of said external signal traits of said one of said wireless subscriber units from at least one of a first category including variations of specified parameters of said one of said wireless subscriber units, a second category including variations in non-specified parameters, and a third category including variations in reactions or responses to interrogations; and converting means connected to said characterizing means for converting said plurality of characterizing signals into a security pattern wherein said security pattern and said identification code are used to identify said one of said wireless subscriber units.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising: historic security pattern storing means for storing historic security patterns for of said wireless subscriber units; and first comparing means connected to said converting means and said storing means for comparing said security pattern to one of said historic security pattern for corresponding to said identification code of said one of said wireless subscriber units.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said first comparing means generates a confidence level indicating a likelihood that said one of said wireless subscriber units also generated the historic security pattern.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 7 further including: access means connected to said first comparing means for granting or denying access to said one of said wireless subscriber units to said subscriber system based upon said confidence level.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said confidence level generated by said first comparing means indicates a mismatch condition, a possible mismatch condition, and a match condition.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising: fraudulent user history storing means for storing a fraudulent user history for a plurality of fraudulent wireless subscriber units; and second comparing means connected to said first comparing means for comparing said security pattern of said one of said wireless subscriber units to said fraudulent user history when said first comparing means generates the confidence level indicating the possible mismatch condition.

Claim 11

The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said second comparing means generates a match signal or a mismatch signal.

Claim 12

The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said access means grants access to said one of said wireless subscriber units if said first comparing means generates the confidence level indicating the match condition, or if said first comparing means generates the confidence level indicating the possible mismatch condition and said second comparing means generates the mismatch signal.

Claim 13

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said access means denies access to said one of said wireless subscriber units if said first comparing means generates the confidence level indicating the mismatch condition, or if the first comparing means generates the confidence level indicating the possible mismatch condition and said second comparing means generates the match signal.

Claim 14

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said historic security pattern storing means is updated with said security pattern of said one of said wireless subscriber units.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said fraudulent user history storing means is updated with said security pattern of said one of said wireless subscriber units.

Claim 16

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said converting means compares said plurality of characterizing signals to a plurality of standard signals and generates a plurality of multibit signals representing deviation of each of said characterizing signals from each of said standard signals.

Claim 17

The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said converting means combines said plurality of multibit signals into said security pattern.

Claim 18

The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said converting means combines said plurality of multibit signals and said identification code into said security pattern.

Claim 19

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said characterizing means generates at least one of said characterizing signals by timing a feature in said wireless subscriber signal.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said converting means compares said at least one of said characterizing signals representing said feature timing to a standard timing signal and generates a first multibit signal representing deviation of said characterizing signal from said standard timing signal.

Claim 21

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said characterizing means generates at least one of said characterizing signals by performing a time comb on a portion of said wireless subscriber signal.

Claim 22

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said characterizing means generates at least one of said characterizing signals by generating a frequency histogram on a portion of said wireless subscriber signal to determine RF shift of said wireless subscriber signal.

Claim 23

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said characterizing means generates at least one of said characterizing signals by fitting a line by a least-means-squared method to a mark portion of said wireless subscriber signal.

Claim 24

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said characterizing means generates at least one of said characterizing signals by fitting a line by a least-means-squared method to a space portion of said wireless subscriber signal.

Claim 25

Apparatus for identifying wireless subscriber units and for granting or denying access to a subscriber service comprising: a plurality of wireless subscriber units each for generating a wireless subscriber signal including internal data traits and external signal traits and each for receiving a transmitter/receiver signal, wherein said internal data traits include an identification code; receiving and transmitting means located remote from said wireless subscriber units for receiving said wireless subscriber signal and for transmitting transmitter/receiver signal; characterizing means connected to said receiving and transmitting means for characterizing one of said wireless subscriber units and for generating a plurality of characterizing signals for said one wireless subscriber unit wherein the characterizing means generates said plurality of characterizing signals by measuring features of said external traits of said one of said wireless subscriber units from at least one of a first category including variations of specified parameters of said one of said wireless subscriber units, a second category including variations in non-specified parameters, and a third category including variations in reactions or responses to interrogations; converting means connected to said characterizing means for converting said plurality of characterizing signals to a security pattern, wherein said security pattern and said identification code are used to identify said one of said wireless subscriber units; historic security pattern storing means for storing historic security patterns for said wireless subscriber units; first comparing means connected to said converting means and said storing means for comparing said security pattern to said historic security pattern corresponding to said identification code of said one of said wireless subscriber units, wherein said first comparing means generates a confidence level indicating a likelihood that said one of said wireless subscriber units also generated the historic security pattern; access means connected to said comparing means for granting or denying access for said one wireless subscriber unit to said subscriber system based upon said confidence level; and profiling means for monitoring usage parameters indicative of fraudulent use.

Claim 26

The apparatus of claim 25 wherein said usage parameters include at least one of a number of times a wireless subscriber unit requests access to said subscriber system in a first period and a length of time said wireless subscriber unit uses said subscriber system in a second period.

Claim 27

The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said first and second periods are twenty-four hours.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said first and second periods are one hour.

Claim 29

Apparatus for identifying wireless subscriber units and for granting or denying access to a subscriber service comprising: a plurality of wireless subscriber units each for generating a wireless subscriber signal including internal data traits and external signal traits and each for receiving a transmitter/receiver signal, wherein said internal data traits include an identification code; receiving and transmitting means located remote from said wireless subscriber units for receiving said wireless subscriber signal and for transmitting transmitter/receiver signal; characterizing means connected to said receiving and transmitting means for characterizing one of said wireless subscriber units and for generating a plurality of characterizing signals for said one wireless subscriber unit wherein the characterizing means generates said plurality of characterizing signals by measuring features of said external traits of said one of said wireless subscriber units from at least one of a first category including variations of specified parameters of said one of said wireless subscriber units, a second category including variations in non-specified parameters, and a third category including variations in reactions or responses to interrogations; converting means connected to said characterizing means for converting said plurality of characterizing signals to a security pattern, wherein said security pattern and said identification code are used to identify said one of said wireless subscriber units; historic security pattern storing means for storing historic security patterns for said wireless subscriber units; first comparing means connected to said converting means and said storing means for comparing said security pattern to said historic security pattern corresponding to said identification code of said one of said wireless subscriber units, wherein said first comparing means generates a confidence level indicating a likelihood that said one of said wireless subscriber units also generated the historic security pattern; and access means connected to said comparing means for granting or denying access for said one wireless subscriber unit to said subscriber system based upon said confidence level.

Claim 31

The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of: generating a confidence level indicating a likelihood that said one of said wireless subscriber units also generated the historic security pattern.

Claim 32

The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of: granting or denying access to said one of said wireless subscriber units to said subscriber system based upon said confidence level.

Claim 33

The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of: monitoring at least one usage parameter indicative of fraudulent use.

Claim 34

The method of claim 33 wherein said usage parameter includes at least one of a number of times a wireless subscriber unit requests access to said subscriber system in a first period, and a length of time said wireless subscriber unit uses said subscriber service in a second period.