--- begin forwarded text From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 23:21:16 +0100 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Another great invention by Microsoft Sender: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> List-Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?subject=subscribe%20dbs> Hi, Microsoft recently got their second patent on groundbreaking electronic money methods. It's good to see that there is so much good new work being done in the field! Regards, Stefan ========================= US5872844: System and method for detecting fraudulent expenditure of transferable electronic assets Inventor(s): Yacobi; Yacov , Mercer Island, WA Applicant(s): Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA Issued/Filed Dates: Feb. 16, 1999 / Nov. 18, 1996 Abstract: An electronic asset system includes tamper-resistant electronic wallets that store transferable electronic assets. To break such tamper-resistant wallets, the criminal is expected to spend an initial investment to defeat the tamper-resistant protection. The electronic assets are issued by an institution to a wallet (anonymously or non-anonymously). During expenditure, the electronic assets are transferred from a payer wallet to a payee wallet. The payee wallets routinely submit the transferred assets for possible audit. A fraud detection system samples the assets submitted for audit to detect "bad" assets which have been used in a fraudulent manner. Upon detection, the fraud detection system identifies the electronic wallet that used the bad asset and marks it as a "bad wallet". The fraud detection system compiles a list of bad electronic wallets and distributes the list to warn other wallets of the bad electronic wallets. The list is relatively small since it only contains identities of certificates of bad wallets (and not bad coins) and the certificates have short expiration terms, and hence can be stored locally on each wallet. When a bad wallet next attempts to spend assets (whether fraudulently or not), the intended recipient will check the local hot list of bad wallets and refuse to transact business with the bad wallet. CLAIMS: I claim: 1. An electronic asset system comprising: a plurality of electronic wallets; a plurality of transferable electronic assets stored on the electronic wallets, the electronic assets being transferred from payer electronic wallets to payee electronic wallets during transactions; and a fraud detection system to sample a subset of the transferred electronic assets to detect bad assets that have been used in a fraudulent manner, the fraud detection system further identifying the payer electronic wallets that transferred the bad assets. [66 other inventive methods and apparatus omitted] ============================================ --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
