Providing credit inquiry alerts

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for generating and delivering an alert to an individual regarding a credit inquiry. For example, an inquiry request may be received that includes a request for credit data associated with an individual. An alert may then be generated and provided to the individual based on retrieved contact information associated with the individual. In some embodiments, the alert is generated regardless of whether the inquiry causes a change to credit data associated with the individual.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices configured with specific executable instructions, an inquiry request from a requesting entity, wherein the inquiry request includes a request for credit data associated with an individual, wherein the inquiry request is received prior to the inquiry request causing any change to credit data associated with the individual in a credit bureau database; in response to receiving the inquiry request: retrieving, by the computing system, contact information associated with the individual from an electronic data store, wherein the retrieved contact information includes at least one of a phone number, an IP address, or a device identifier associated with a mobile device of the individual; generating, by the computing system, an alert for delivery to the individual, the alert including information identifying the requesting entity, wherein the alert is generated (a) substantially in real time when the request for credit data is received, (b) before or contemporaneously with a processing by a credit bureau of the request for credit data, and (c) without reference to credit data or financial data associated with the individual, wherein the alert includes a selectable option that enables the individual to indicate that the individual does not authorize credit data to be provided to the requesting entity; electronically providing the alert to the individual based on the retrieved contact information, wherein electronically providing the alert to the individual comprises sending, by the computing system, the alert to the mobile device of the individual as at least one of: a push notification or an automated text message, wherein the alert activates an application operating on the mobile device to cause display of the selectable option that enables connection to the computing system over the Internet, wherein the alert includes the selectable option for display as at least one of a link or a button; receiving a response, by the computing system, from the mobile device of the individual indicating that the selectable option within the alert was selected; and based on the response received from the mobile device of the individual, automatically preventing the computing system from releasing credit data associated with the individual to the requesting entity.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the alert is provided to the individual prior to the inquiry request causing any change to credit data associated with the individual.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising establishing, by the computing system, a time period of a predetermined length during which the individual may respond to the alert, wherein the time period is set to be a predetermined number of seconds or minutes, wherein the computing system is configured to release credit data associated with the individual to the requesting entity as a default action at the end of the time period unless a response to the alert is received by the computing system during the time period.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computing system that generates the alert is associated with a credit bureau.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the contact information for the individual is received in association with enrollment by the individual in a notification service.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the alert is generated in association with a credit monitoring service.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the alert is provided to the mobile device of the individual as the push notification to the application operating on the mobile device of the individual.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the alert is provided to the mobile device of the individual as the automated text message to the phone number associated with the mobile device of the individual.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the automated text message is an SMS message.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the alert includes an option to view additional information associated with the inquiry request, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises: in response to selection of the option to view additional information associated with the inquiry request, generating a user interface for display, wherein the user interface includes the additional information and is provided in association with a credit monitoring account of the individual.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising processing the inquiry request with reference to the credit bureau database in parallel with the generating of the alert for delivery to the individual, wherein processing the inquiry request comprises retrieving credit data responsive to the inquiry request.

12. A system comprising: a data store that stores information associated with one or more individuals, wherein the information includes member information indicating respective individuals enrolled in a notification service; a computing device in communication with the data store and that is configured to at least: receive an inquiry request from a requesting entity, wherein the inquiry request includes a request for credit data associated with an individual, wherein the inquiry request is received prior to the inquiry request causing any change to credit data associated with the individual in a credit bureau database; determine that the individual is enrolled in the notification service based at least in part by comparing information associated with the inquiry request and member information retrieved from the data store, wherein the information compared includes at least one of a name, a social security number or an address; in response to receiving the inquiry request and determining that the individual is enrolled in the notification service: retrieve contact information associated with the individual from the data store, wherein the retrieved contact information includes at least one of a phone number, an IP address, or a device identifier associated with a mobile device of the individual; generate an alert for delivery to the individual, the alert including information identifying the requesting entity, wherein the alert is generated (a) substantially in real time when the request for credit data is received, (b) before or contemporaneously with a processing by a credit bureau of the request for credit data, and (c) without reference to credit data or financial data associated with the individual, wherein the alert includes a selectable option that enables the individual to indicate that the individual does not authorize credit data to be provided to the requesting entity; electronically provide the alert to the individual based on the retrieved contact information, wherein electronically providing the alert to the individual comprises sending the alert to the mobile device of the individual as at least one of: a push notification or an automated text message, wherein the alert activates an application operating on the mobile device to cause display of the selectable option that enables connection to the system over the Internet, wherein the alert includes the selectable option for display as at least one of a link or a button; receive a response from the mobile device of the individual indicating that the selectable option within the alert was selected; and based on the response received from the mobile device of the individual, automatically prevent a release of credit data associated with the individual to the requesting entity.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the alert further includes a selectable option to place a freeze on a credit file of the individual.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the alert is provided to the individual prior to the inquiry request causing any change to credit data associated with the individual.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the computing device is further configured to establish a time period of a predetermined length during which the individual may respond to the alert, wherein the time period is set to be a predetermined number of seconds or minutes, wherein the system is configured to release credit data associated with the individual to the requesting entity as a default action at the end of the time period unless a response to the alert is received by the system during the time period.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the computing device is further configured to process the inquiry request with reference to the credit bureau database in parallel with the generating of the alert for delivery to the individual, wherein processing the inquiry request comprises retrieving credit data responsive to the inquiry request.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration for providing real-time consumer alerts in response to credit inquiry requests, according to certain embodiments.

(2) FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating another example configuration for providing real-time consumer alerts in response to credit inquiry requests, according to certain embodiments in which an inquiry alert module is operated in association with a credit monitoring service.

(3) FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating another example configuration for generating real-time alerts in response to credit inquiry requests, where the generated alerts are provided to a consumer during a batch process.

(4) FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for providing a real-time inquiry alert to a user.

(5) FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a system that implements aspects of the present disclosure, such as providing inquiry alerts to a user.

(6) These and other features will now be described with reference to the drawings summarized above. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate certain embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) Various embodiments of systems, methods, processes, and data structures will now be described with reference to the drawings. Variations to the systems, methods, processes, and data structures that represent other embodiments will also be described.

(8) An alert system as described herein may, in some embodiments, include an alert module that generates and/or delivers inquiry alerts to consumers. The alert system may include an enrollment component that enables a user to enroll in monitoring, an alert component that provides detection of alert triggering events (such as a credit inquiry or a request for credit data) and delivery of alerts to one or more consumers. In some embodiments, an alert system may additionally include a resolution component that provides resolution of credit inquiries that a consumer identifies, in response to an alert, as fraudulent, not approved, inaccurate, or otherwise in need of resolution.

(9) For example, the enrollment component may be offered via a monitoring service that enrolls consumers in an identity monitoring service. The alert component may be provided via one or more alert providers that detect or receive notification of an inquiry related to a consumer's credit data, and then provide one or more alerts in association with the monitoring service. For example, an alert provider may have a relationship with a credit bureau such that inquiry requests that are received by the credit bureau are provided to the alert provider even prior to the credit bureau processing the inquiry request and, thus, the alert provider may provide inquiry alerts to consumers irrespective of any changes that may be made to the consumer's credit data at the credit bureau. Furthermore, in some embodiments the alert provider may be an intermediary that receives credit inquiries directly from requesting entities and transmits the credit inquiries to one or more credit bureaus after (or concurrently with) extraction of information regarding consumers in the credit inquiries and initiation of alert transmission to the consumers.

(10) The monitoring service may attempt to identify the user as an enrolled member of the monitoring service. If the user is identified as enrolled in the monitoring service, an alert indicating the credit inquiry may be transmitted to the consumer using contact information provided in the consumer's account associated with the monitoring service. In some embodiments, the alert component may generate an alert without reference to credit data associated with the consumer, such that the alert is generated based on an inquiry itself, rather than based on monitoring changes to credit data. Depending on the embodiment, the alert that is transmitted to the consumer may include details regarding the credit inquiry, such as the name of the requesting entity and time of the inquiry, or the alert may include a notification that a credit inquiry has been made for the consumers credit data along with information that will allow the consumer to access further details regarding the credit inquiry, such as via an online credit monitoring portal or a call-in customer service number.

(11) Although the description provided herein refers to individuals, consumers, or customers, the terms user, individual, consumer, and customer may, according to some embodiments, include groups of individuals, such as, for example, married couples or domestic partners, organizations, groups, and business entities.

(12) The alert provider, which may be associated with a credit bureau, credit reseller, and/or a credit monitoring service, may generate and/or transmit alerts in response to a requesting entity's inquiry request, which may be a request for credit data associated with an individual, such as the individual's credit report. In other embodiments, alerts may be provided in response to various triggering events, including, for example, an authentication request (which may be associated with a credit request or sent prior to a credit request). Other triggering events, in some embodiments, may include submission of a credit application (such as for a mortgage, a revolving loan, or a credit card), a consumer's request for access to his own personal credit report and/or credit score, or submission of non-credit applications (such as new accounts for financial services, utilities, leasing, renting, and telephone service).

(13) In some embodiments, alerts may be generated very quickly (e.g., in real-time or substantially in real-time) after the inquiry request or other triggering event occurs. For example, alerts may be transmitted within seconds of the triggering event occurring. In some embodiments, the generated alert may be provided to the user in real-time once the alert is generated. In other embodiments, the generated alert may be stored for later delivery to the individual. For example, in some such embodiments, alerts may be transmitted in batches, where the batch processing may occur frequently, such as every N seconds or minutes. In yet other embodiments, generated and stored alerts may be transmitted in a more delayed manner to the user, such as part of an hourly or nightly batch processing, or other batch processing.

(14) FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a system that provides real-time consumer alerts in response to credit inquiry requests. In the embodiment illustrated, credit data is shown being received by a receiver 126 of a credit bureau 104 from various entities, such as a bank 130, a credit card company 131 and an account provider 132. Credit data may additionally be received from lenders and/or other financial institutions (not illustrated). The credit bureau includes a processing queue 124 for receiving and routing the incoming credit data. Tradeline data, e.g., information regarding credit and debit accounts of the consumer, may be transmitted to the credit data store 122. For example, a credit module operated by the credit bureau 104 may determine appropriate credit data and other consumer information to be stored in credit data store 122 based at least in part on the data received from the various entities 130-132.

(15) The credit data store 122 may be monitored periodically, such as via a batch process, to identify changes to credit data stored by the credit bureau. For example, the credit bureau may nightly scan the credit data store for changes to consumer credit files. In one embodiment, the batch monitor 106 looks for changes to credit files of consumers that are enrolled in a credit monitoring service of one or more affiliates of the credit bureau. A credit monitoring service may generally include a service with which individuals maintain an account in order to be alerted when a change posts to the individual's credit data or credit report, which may include an inquiry being noted in the individual's credit data. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a consumer credit monitoring service 108 performs and/or requests that the batch monitor 106 perform a batch process to identify changes to credit data associated with customers of the consumer credit monitoring service 108. For example, the credit monitoring service may periodically pull identified credit changes and determine which alerts correspond to customers of the credit monitoring service. Once customers for particular changes are identified, information regarding the change may be transmitted to the consumer. In other embodiments, the batch processing blocks illustrated in FIG. 1A-1C may be performed by a single entity or may be separated in any other manner. A few hours to a few days may pass between the credit data being received by the credit bureau and the provision of notifications to consumers regarding changes to the affected consumer.

(16) Also shown in FIG. 1A are requests for consumer credit data that might be received by an inquiry module 105 of the credit bureau 104 (or an affiliate of the credit bureau) from a credit requesting entity 102. Credit requesting entities, such as credit requesting entity 102, may include lenders, car dealers, brokers, retailers, landlords, and/or any other entity that is interested in consumer credit data. Requests for credit data are generally referred to herein as inquiries, inquiry requests or credit inquiry requests. In addition to providing the requested credit data (such as a credit report regarding the consumer) to the credit requester, inquiry requests may be recorded in the credit file of the consumer, which may be stored in credit data store 122. Thus, inquiry requests can be monitored by the batch monitoring processes that are performed by the credit bureau 104 (such as by batch monitor 106) and/or an affiliate of the credit bureau (such as by credit monitoring service 108), which may include a credit data reseller or a third-party credit monitoring service. However, providing alerts in this manner may result in the customer of a credit monitoring service receiving notification of an inquiry request days after the inquiry request was made. If the inquiry request was fraudulent (e.g., made by someone that was not authorized to receive credit data associated with the customer and/or to open a credit account in the name of the customer), the customer would be better served to receive the notification earlier, such that action may be taken to minimize damage to the customer's identity, finances and/or credit file.

(17) In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the inquiry module 105 of the credit bureau 104 interfaces with a notification service 109 in order to provide consumers with real-time notifications of inquiry requests, which may be generated by alert module 110. The notification service 109 may be operated by or associated with the credit bureau 104, may be affiliated with a partner of the credit bureau, or may be operated by a third-party entity. In this embodiment, the inquiry module 105, which initially receives the inquiry request from the credit requesting entity 102 in the illustrated embodiment, provides inquiry request notices to the notification service 109 upon receipt of a new inquiry alert from a credit requesting entity 102. For example, the credit bureau may provide the inquiry request notices to the notification service 109 prior to providing the requested credit data to the credit requesting entity 102 and/or recording the inquiry request in the consumer's credit data (e.g., prior to storing data associated with the inquiry request in credit data store 122). In other embodiments, the inquiry module 105 may provide the inquiry request notices to the notification service 109 substantially contemporaneously with recording the inquiry request in the consumer's credit data and/or retrieving credit data to provide to the credit requesting entity. In either case, the inquiry module 105 and the notification service 109 do not need to monitor the credit data (such as the data stored in credit data store 122) in order to identify inquiry requests and provide alerts to consumers. Rather, the notification service 109 may receive inquiry request notices directly from the alert module 110 (e.g., operated by the credit bureau 104) and may provide real-time alerts to the corresponding consumer, possibly before credit data is provided to the credit requestor or prior to a new credit line being opened using the consumer's identity. In this way, the consumer is provided with an opportunity to more quickly take action in response to potentially fraudulent use of the consumer's identity, or to more quickly resolve inaccuracies in the consumer's credit file.

(18) Credit inquiry alerts may be provided to the consumer in various manners, as described further below. For example, as illustrated in the various illustrative embodiments shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, inquiry alerts generated by the alert module 110 may be sent to a client device 112 by a notification service 109 or a credit monitoring service 108. Similarly, the consumer may access alert details by requesting additional information from notification service 109 (such as in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A) or from a credit monitoring service 108 (such as in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1B). The alert module 110 or a credit monitoring service 108 may retrieve contact information for the individual from an account data store operated by the credit monitoring service or the notification service, which may include an email address, telephone number, account user name, etc. The alert module 110 may send or otherwise provide an alert to the consumer and/or a client device 112 associated with the consumer based on the retrieved contact information. Alerts may be delivered via any medium, such as, for example, an online portal that is accessible to alert members (e.g., a credit monitoring website), SMS text message, push notification to a mobile device (e.g., to a credit monitoring mobile application), email, printed digests, a mobile application, automated or personal telephone call, etc. In some embodiments, the alert may include detailed information associated with the inquiry, such as information identifying the credit requesting entity 102, the time of the inquiry, the data requested (e.g., whether a full credit report was requested), etc. In other embodiments, the alert may not include any specific information regarding the inquiry, but may notify the user that he should access his account with the credit monitoring service 108 and/or review his credit data with credit bureau 104 in order to obtain further details.

(19) FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating another example configuration for providing real-time consumer alerts in response to credit inquiry requests, according to certain embodiments in which an inquiry alert module 110 is operated in association with a credit monitoring service 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the alert module 110 may receive the inquiry request directly from the credit requesting entity 102. For example, the alert module 110 associated with the credit monitoring service 108 may receive the inquiry request, then may forward the inquiry request to the credit bureau 104 for processing, while providing an inquiry alert to the client device 112 prior to the inquiry being processed by the credit bureau. In other embodiments, the credit requesting entity 102 may send the inquiry request (or notification of an inquiry request) to the inquiry module 110 while also sending an inquiry request directly to the credit bureau 104.

(20) In one embodiment, detailed information regarding the inquiry request may be made available to the consumer via a credit monitoring user interface (e.g., the consumer may access a credit monitoring account associated with a credit monitoring service via a web browser to receive detailed information). For example, a user may use the client device 112 to access alert details stored at the credit monitoring service 108. Depending on the embodiment, the alert details may not be available to the consumer for some time after the inquiry request alert is received since the credit monitoring service may receive the information only after one or more batch processes are performed on the credit data stored by the credit bureau. For example, in some embodiments, when the inquiry request is received by the alert module 110 (or an inquiry request is otherwise detected by the alert module), an inquiry alert may be transmitted to the consumer (in real-time) with an indication that further information regarding the inquiry is available, or will soon be available, from the credit monitoring service, for example. In one embodiment, the further information regarding the inquiry is available after completion of a next batch process performed by the batch monitor 106. Thus, in this embodiment the user is provided with a real-time alert indicating that the inquiry into the consumer's credit he has been made, and is given the opportunity to obtain further information regarding the inquiry alert from the credit monitoring service 108 (or directly from the alert module 110 in some embodiments), such as within one to three days after the inquiry is received by the credit bureau. In other embodiments, detailed information regarding the inquiry request is obtained by the alert module 110 prior to, or concurrently with, the inquiry being received and processed by the credit bureau. In such an embodiment, the consumer may have immediate access to detailed information regarding the inquiry alert and may have increased opportunities to reduce fraudulent use of the consumer's identity.

(21) FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating another example configuration for generating real-time alerts in response to credit inquiry requests, where the generated alerts are provided to a consumer during a batch process. In the illustrated embodiment, the alert module 110 may be operated by the credit bureau 104 or a credit reseller that receives the credit inquiry request from the credit requesting entity 102. The alert module 110 may generate a real-time or near real-time alert in response to receiving the inquiry request. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1C, the alert module may store the generated alert such that the batch monitor 106 may retrieve the generated alert and provide the alert to a credit monitoring service 108 for delivery to the consumer. The credit monitoring service may receive or retrieve generated alerts from the batch monitor 106, for example, during a batch process, similar to those discussed above. In some embodiments, the alert module may generate and store the alert prior to or in parallel with the credit bureau's normal processing of the inquiry request and retrieval of credit data, such that the alert is generated prior to any changes being made to credit data. Accordingly, even if the batch process is executed in a manner such that the generated alert is not provided to the user for a few minutes or hours after the inquiry request is received by the alert module 110, the alert may nonetheless be provided to the client device in association with an earlier batch process than would be typical in the case of an alert that is generated by monitoring changes to credit data.

(22) FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method for providing a real-time inquiry alert to a user. Depending on the embodiment, the method of FIG. 2 may include additional or fewer blocks and/or the blocks may be performed in a different order than is illustrated. For ease of discussion, the method of FIG. 2 is described below as being completed by the alert module 110. However, the method may be implemented by any other device, or combination of devices, such as computing devices associated with a credit bureau, an affiliate or credit reseller associated with a credit bureau, and/or a credit monitoring service.

(23) The illustrative method begins at block 202, where the alert module 110 receives an inquiry request requesting credit data associated with an individual. The inquiry request may include, for example, a request for a credit report, a credit score, and/or specific portions or fields of credit data associated with the individual. In some embodiments, the credit inquiry may be sent by a computing system associated with the requesting entity 102 to a credit bureau or credit reseller, which may in turn provide the inquiry or notification of the inquiry to the alert module 110. For example, the credit bureau or credit reseller may operate in a manner in which notification of a credit inquiry is automatically sent or otherwise provided to the alert module when the inquiry is received, such that the alert module 110 may process the inquiry notification for alert purposes in parallel with, prior to, or otherwise without regard to the credit bureau's processing of the request for credit data. In other embodiments, the alert module 110 may receive the credit inquiry directly from the credit requesting entity.

(24) At block 204, the alert module 110 analyzes the inquiry request to identify consumer identity information associated with the inquiry request. In some embodiments, analyzing the inquiry request may include parsing the request to extract consumer identity information, such as a name, social security number, address, employer, etc.

(25) Next, in block 206 the alert module determines whether the consumer identity information associated with the inquiry request matches identity information of a member of the credit monitoring service. For example, the alert module may be operated by a credit bureau, notification service, credit monitoring service, and/or other provider that provides inquiry alerts to individuals that requested to be members of such a service. In other embodiments, an inquiry alert service as described herein may be offered in association with a related product or service, such that inquiry alerts may be sent to members of the related product or service, provided that the member has not opted out of receiving inquiry alerts. The alert module 110 may determine whether the inquiry request is for credit data of a member of the credit monitoring service (or a related notification service) by determining whether the consumer identity information extracted from the inquiry request (block 204) matches member information data retrieved from one or more data stores (e.g., stored by the credit monitoring service 108). In some embodiments, a confidence score may be generated indicating the confidence that the inquiry request is for credit data of a given member. If the confidence score for a given member is above a certain threshold value, the alert module may determine that the inquiry request is for credit data of the given member.

(26) If the alert module determines at block 206 that the inquiry request is not associated with a member of the credit monitoring service, the illustrative method may end at block 208. If the alert module instead determines that that the inquiry request is associated with a member of the credit monitoring service (or a related service), the illustrative method proceeds to block 210, where the alert module 110 retrieves contact information associated with the individual. In some embodiments, the contact information may be retrieved from a data store associated with members of the notification service, such that the contact information includes contact details provided by the individual when signing up for the service. In other embodiments, the contact information may alternatively or additionally be retrieved from one or more other data sources, such as from profile data or account data maintained by a third-party service with which the individual maintains contact information and/or other personal information. The retrieved contact information may include, for example, a phone number, email address, mailing address, account name or user name, IP address, or device identifier. In some embodiments, the alert module may additionally retrieve contact preferences associated with the individual, such as information identifying a preferred contact method and/or rules associated with contacting the individual (such as time windows in which the user would like to be contacted, identification of situations in which different contact methods should be employed, etc.).

(27) Next, at block 212, the alert module 110 generates an alert for delivery to the individual, where the alert may be generated without regard to credit data associated with the individual. For example, in some embodiments, generation of the alert may be based on the inquiry being received, rather than being based on an identified change to stored credit data. In some embodiments, generating an alert may include storing information indicating that an alert associated with the individual is available, such that the individual will be notified of the alert at a later time, such as during a batch process. In other embodiments, the generated alert may be delivered or otherwise provided to the user immediately after the alert is generated. The information included in the generated alert may be limited, in some embodiments, to an indication that an inquiry has been received regarding the individual. In other embodiments, the generated alert may include details regarding the inquiry, such as information identifying the requesting entity (such as a financial institution or other entity described above), a third party associated with the requesting entity (such as a retail store associated with a credit card issuer that submitted the inquiry), a time and date of the inquiry, the data requested (e.g., whether a full credit report was requested), and/or a geographic location associated with the inquiry.

(28) Once the alert has been generated, the alert module 110 delivers or sends the generated alert to the individual (such as to a client computing device associated with the individual) based on the contact information retrieved at block 210. As will be appreciated, the alert may be provided in a variety of ways depending on the contact information, contact preferences and/or the embodiment. For example, providing the alert may include, but is not limited to, sending a text message, sending an email, making a phone call, leaving a voicemail, sending a letter, providing alert information when the user logs into an account or launches an application, etc. In some embodiments, an alert may be delivered to the individual regardless of whether the inquiry is a hard inquiry of soft inquiry. In other embodiments, alerts may only be provided to the user for hard inquiries. In embodiments in which an individual may receive an alert associated with a soft inquiry, the alert may notify the user that there may be a change to the user's credit report, since a soft inquiry might never post to the individual's credit report.

(29) In some embodiments, the alert module 110 may communicate with the credit bureau 104 and/or credit requesting entity 102 to operate in a closed loop manner. For example, in one embodiment the credit bureau may wait for confirmation from the consumer that credit information may be released to the credit requesting entity 102 before providing the consumer's credit information to the credit requesting entity. For example, the inquiry alert may request that the user respond within a specified time period indicating whether the credit data should be released to the credit requesting entity 102, and may default to either releasing or not releasing the data if no response is received, depending on the embodiment.

(30) As noted above, in some embodiments, alerts may provide the receiving consumers the ability to allow or deny a credit data request or inquiry before credit data or other information is provided to the requesting entity (e.g., a merchant, bank, lender, etc.). For example, the consumer may receive an alert indicating that credit information for the consumer has been requested by a given entity. If the consumer is not familiar with the entity, the consumer can respond to the alert requesting that the requested credit information not be provided to the requesting entity. The response may also indicate that the requesting entity should be provided with an indication that the request may be associated with actions of an identity thief. Additionally, the response may request one or more protective actions, such as putting a freeze on the consumer's credit file. These actions may be selected individually or collectively based on the consumer's preferences, for example. In other embodiments, fewer or additional actions may be taken in response to a consumer indicating that a received alert is not a result of activity by the consumer. In one embodiment, an electronic alert may include a link or button that the user can select in order to allow the credit data to be provided in response to the inquiry and a link or button that the user can select in order to prevent the credit data from being provided.

(31) In one embodiment, the credit bureau or other credit data provider may wait a predetermined time (e.g., a customizable time between 15 seconds to 10 minutes) after receiving an inquiry before providing the requested credit data to the requesting entity. This provides the consumer with time to respond to the request in order to stop the credit data from being released in the event that the consumer has not authorized the request or believes that the request may be associated with identity fraud. In another embodiment, the requested credit data is not provided to the requesting entity until an affirmative response is provided by the consumer.

(32) In some embodiments, when a consumer indicates that a credit inquiry was not approved or may be associated with a fraudulent use of personal information (such as in an embodiment in which a requesting entity may authenticate an individual's identity in association with the credit inquiry), a resolution component may enable the consumer to initiate and manage resolution. For example, the consumer may be provided with contact information for the entity that was provided with the consumer's personal information and/or credit data (e.g., the requesting entity, such as a bank or merchant) so that the consumer can contact the requesting entity to work towards resolution and/or contact a fraud resolution service to help resolve the issue. In some embodiments, the consumer alert system may enable the user to opt to have a full service resolution performed. For example, the consumer may pay a fee to have the monitoring service resolve the issue (e.g., without requiring the consumer to contact the requesting entity or the fraud resolution service). Such full service resolution may be partially or fully automated by the providing entity. In some embodiments, the resolution component may resolve the issue without further involvement of the requesting entity. In other embodiment, the resolution component may resolve the issue in coordination with the requesting entity. In other embodiments, a passive inquiry alert may be generated and provided to a user without a resolution component associated with the alert.

(33) Example System Architecture

(34) FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration for providing real-time consumer alerts in response to credit inquiry requests, according to certain embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, a computing system 300, which includes an alert module 350, is in communication with a network 360 and various systems are also in communication with the network 360. The computing system 300 may be used to implement systems and methods described herein. For example, the computing system 300 may be associated with a notification service that generates inquiry alerts and/or provides inquiry alerts to a user. Alternatively, a credit bureau, credit data reseller or credit monitoring service may each include a computing system similar to that of FIG. 3.

(35) The computing system 300 includes, for example, a personal computer that is IBM, Macintosh, or Linux/Unix compatible or a server or workstation. In one embodiment, the computing system 300 comprises a server, a laptop computer, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant, a kiosk, or an audio player, for example. In one embodiment, the exemplary computing system 300 includes one or more central processing unit (CPU) 305, which may each include a conventional or proprietary microprocessor. The computing system 300 further includes one or more memory 330, such as random access memory (RAM) for temporary storage of information, one or more read only memory (ROM) for permanent storage of information, and one or more mass storage device 320, such as a hard drive, diskette, solid state drive, or optical media storage device. Typically, the modules of the computing system 300 are connected to the computer using a standard based bus system 380. In different embodiments, the standard based bus system could be implemented in Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Microchannel, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) and Extended ISA (EISA) architectures, for example. In addition, the functionality provided for in the components and modules of computing system 300 may be combined into fewer components and modules or further separated into additional components and modules.

(36) The computing system 300 is generally controlled and coordinated by operating system software, such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server, Unix, Linux, SunOS, Solaris, or other compatible operating systems. In Macintosh systems, the operating system may be any available operating system, such as MAC OS X. In other embodiments, the computing system 300 may be controlled by a proprietary operating system. Conventional operating systems control and schedule computer processes for execution, perform memory management, provide file system, networking, I/O services, and provide a user interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), among other things.

(37) The exemplary computing system 300 may include one or more commonly available input/output (I/O) devices and interfaces 310, such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, and printer. In one embodiment, the I/O devices and interfaces 310 include one or more display devices, such as a monitor, that allows the visual presentation of data to a user. More particularly, a display device provides for the presentation of GUIs, application software data, and multimedia presentations, for example. The computing system 300 may also include one or more multimedia devices 340, such as speakers, video cards, graphics accelerators, and microphones, for example.

(38) In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the I/O devices and interfaces 310 provide a communication interface to various external devices. In the illustrated embodiment, the computing system 300 is electronically coupled to a network 360, which comprises one or more of a LAN, WAN, and/or the Internet, for example, via a wired, wireless, or combination of wired and wireless, communication link 315. The network 360 communicates with various computing devices and/or other electronic devices via wired or wireless communication links.

(39) According to FIG. 3, information is provided to the computing system 300 over the network 360 from one or more data sources including, for example, the requesting entity 362, credit bureau 363, and/or a credit data reseller. The information supplied by the various data sources may include a credit inquiry, notification of a credit inquiry, an inquiry alert, and/or other information, such as credit data, personal information, application information, and/or other like data, for example. In addition to the devices that are illustrated in FIG. 3, the network 360 may communicate with other data sources or other computing devices. In addition, the data sources may include one or more internal and/or external data sources. In some embodiments, one or more of the databases or data sources may be implemented using a relational database, such as Sybase, Oracle, CodeBase and Microsoft SQL Server as well as other types of databases such as, for example, a flat file database, an entity-relationship database, and object-oriented database, and/or a record-based database.

(40) A client computer 364 may be connected to the network 360 and used by a user to receive and respond to alerts provided by the computing system 300. The client computer 364 may be a desktop computer, a mobile computer, or any other mobile device such as a mobile phone or other similar handheld computing devices. The client computer 364 may include the same or similar components to those discussed above with reference to the computing system 300.

(41) In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the computing system 300 also includes an alert module 350 that may be stored in the mass storage device 320 as executable software codes that are executed by the CPU 305. This module may include, by way of example, components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the computing system 300 is configured to execute the alert module 350 in order to receive indication of a credit inquiry request, generate credit inquiry alerts, identify contact information for the consumers, transmit alerts to the consumers, and/or receive feedback from the consumers regarding the provided alerts, as well as any other functionality described elsewhere in this specification.

(42) In general, the word module, as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, possibly having entry and exit points, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, Lua, C or C++. A software module may be compiled and linked into an executable program, installed in a dynamic link library, or may be written in an interpreted programming language such as, for example, BASIC, Perl, or Python. It will be appreciated that software modules may be callable from other modules or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events or interrupts. Software modules configured for execution on computing devices may be provided on a computer readable medium, such as a compact disc, digital video disc, flash drive, or any other tangible medium. Such software code may be stored, partially or fully, on a memory device of the executing computing device, such as the computing system 300, for execution by the computing device. Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be further appreciated that hardware modules may be comprised of connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein are preferably implemented as software modules, but may be represented in hardware or firmware. Generally, the modules described herein refer to logical modules that may be combined with other modules or divided into sub-modules despite their physical organization or storage.

(43) Conditional language, such as, among others, can, could, might, or may, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

(44) Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagrams described herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should be understood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternate implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments described herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

(45) All of the methods and processes described above may be embodied in, and partially or fully automated via, software code modules executed by one or more general purpose computers. The methods may be executed on the computing devices in response to execution of software instructions or other executable code read from a tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium. A tangible computer readable medium is a data storage device that can store data that is readable by a computer system. Examples of computer readable mediums include read-only memory, random-access memory, other volatile or non-volatile memory devices, CD-ROMs, magnetic tape, flash drives, and optical data storage devices.

(46) Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain example embodiments and applications, other embodiments and applications that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments and applications that do not provide all of the benefits described herein, are also within the scope of this disclosure.

(47) All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.