How Banks Dynamically Adjust Security Questions Based on Your Behavior
A system that automatically changes the difficulty and number of security questions you face when opening a bank account based on your device data and risk level.
Original patent title: “Adjustment of knowledge-based authentication”
A system that automatically changes the difficulty and number of security questions you face when opening a bank account based on your device data and risk level. Granted to Consumerinfo com Inc in 2019 with 24 claims and 13 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a system that monitors your device information—like your location, IP address, and browser settings—when you try to open a new financial account. An authentication server uses this data to calculate a fraud risk score. If the system suspects something is off, it generates a set of security questions tailored to that risk level. As you answer these questions, the system dynamically adds, removes, or changes the questions in real-time to either lock you out or verify your identity more thoroughly.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover static security questions that remain the same regardless of user behavior.
- Does not cover authentication methods that rely solely on passwords or PINs without dynamic adjustment.
- Does not cover biometric authentication methods like fingerprint or facial recognition.
- Does not cover systems that do not use device identification information to calculate a fraud risk score.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The system treats the authentication process as a dynamic loop: it doesn't just ask a fixed set of questions; it uses your response to the first question to decide if it needs to ask a harder or easier follow-up question, effectively 'tuning' the security level on the fly.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Online bank account opening portals
Credit monitoring service sign-ups
Automated identity verification workflows
Why it matters
The bigger picture
As online banking becomes the norm, preventing identity theft during account creation is a massive challenge for financial institutions. This patent provides a framework for automating the 'trust' process, allowing banks to reduce friction for low-risk users while increasing security hurdles for suspicious ones, effectively automating the role of a fraud analyst.
Filed
March 15, 2017
Granted
January 1, 2019
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
ConsumerInfo.com, a subsidiary of Experian, holds this patent. Major financial institutions and credit bureaus like Equifax and TransUnion are actively developing similar automated risk-assessment engines to streamline customer onboarding while meeting strict regulatory requirements.
Market impact
This technology helped shift the industry toward 'risk-based authentication,' where security is no longer a one-size-fits-all experience. It enabled banks to lower operational costs by automating identity verification, reducing the need for manual human review of new account applications.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a system that monitors your device information—like your location, IP address, and browser settings—when you try to open a new financial account. An authentication server uses this data to calculate a fraud risk score. If the system suspects something is off, it generates a set of security questions tailored to that risk level. As you answer these questions, the system dynamically adds, removes, or changes the questions in real-time to either lock you out or verify your identity more thoroughly.
The clever bit
The system treats the authentication process as a dynamic loop: it doesn't just ask a fixed set of questions; it uses your response to the first question to decide if it needs to ask a harder or easier follow-up question, effectively 'tuning' the security level on the fly.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover static security questions that remain the same regardless of user behavior.
- Does not cover authentication methods that rely solely on passwords or PINs without dynamic adjustment.
- Does not cover biometric authentication methods like fingerprint or facial recognition.
- Does not cover systems that do not use device identification information to calculate a fraud risk score.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
23/40
Moderately cited
Claim breadth
16/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
10/20
Granted 5–10 years ago
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$125K – $399K
Midpoint $250K · 10.7 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
24 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Burger, M. (2019). How Banks Dynamically Adjust Security Questions Based on Your Behavior (U.S. Patent No. 10,169,761). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10169761/stripe-atlas
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Banks Dynamically Adjust Security Questions Based on Your Behavior cover?
A system that automatically changes the difficulty and number of security questions you face when opening a bank account based on your device data and risk level.
Who owns patent US 10169761?
Consumerinfo com Inc owns this patent, granted in 2019.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on January 1, 2039, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 10169761 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 13 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
As online banking becomes the norm, preventing identity theft during account creation is a massive challenge for financial institutions. This patent provides a framework for automating the 'trust' process, allowing banks to reduce friction for low-risk users while increasing security hurdles for suspicious ones, effectively automating the role of a fraud analyst.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover static security questions that remain the same regardless of user behavior.
Same assignee
More from Consumerinfo com Inc
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