# 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. - **Patent:** US 10169761 - **Original title:** Adjustment of knowledge-based authentication - **Owner:** Consumerinfo com Inc - **Granted:** 2019 - **Status:** Active - **Times cited:** 13 - **Field:** finance, software, ai_ml ## What it does 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. ## 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. ## 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. ## Real-world examples 1. Online bank account opening portals 2. Credit monitoring service sign-ups 3. Automated identity verification workflows ## Why it matters 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. ## 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. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10169761/stripe-atlas **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US10169761 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [How an AI System Answers Financial Questions Using Specialized Bots](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12307349/systems-and-methods-of-large-language-model-driven-orchestration-of-task-specifi) — This patent describes an AI system where a large language model (LLM) directs specialized machine learning agents to answer natural language questions about financial data, then refines the answers using an adversarial AI. - [How Websites Use Distorted Text Riddles to Stop Bots](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/6195698/google-search-engine) — This patent describes the original method for creating CAPTCHAs, using distorted text or audio riddles to distinguish human users from automated bots. - [How a Smart System Verifies and Updates Customer Data](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8285656/cortana-virtual-assistant) — This patent describes an automated system that uses artificial intelligence to pick the best ways to check and update information about people or businesses, choosing from methods like web searches, phone calls, or direct mail. - [How Cloud Systems Automatically Create and Train AI Data Models](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11615208/dall-e-text-to-image-generation) — A cloud-based system that generates fake, privacy-safe data to train AI models, ensuring they remain accurate while protecting sensitive personal information. - [How Computers Rank Financial News for Analysts](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11922469/automated-news-ranking-and-recommendation-system) — This patent describes a computer system that automatically collects financial news, groups similar stories, and ranks them for financial analysts using advanced text analysis and machine learning.