FICO Patents 8 New Analytic Techniques

MINNEAPOLIS, May 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FICO, the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced that it has been awarded 8 new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. These patents, awarded to several members of the FICO Labs team, cover breakthroughs in credit score interpretation, fraud detection, credit line optimization and other analytic technologies.

On May 4, the company received a patent for a credit score estimation system that helps consumers understand their credit scores and how to take action to improve their credit scores. The invention includes a score estimating tool, a best action simulation tool, an easy error correction tool, and a score improvement tool. This technology is behind the FICO(R) Score Estimator available as an iPhone app and at www.myfico.com.

In April FICO received a patent for an invention that analyzes healthcare reimbursement claims, using a probability-based sequencing model. This invention improves the identification of potentially fraudulent or abusive healthcare providers. This invention was developed to be part of the FICO(TM) Insurance Fraud Manager system, the basis of FICO's partnerships with the largest healthcare management organizations in the United States.

Three other recent FICO patents address the problem of fraud. The first provides a method for determining whether applications for credit originate from legitimate applicants or fraudsters. The second patent is for a system that will help detect and take action on mass compromise of ATMs. The system analyzes clusters of compromised cards, and will help card issuers

The second patent is for a system that will help detect and take action on mass compromise of ATMs. The system analyzes clusters of compromised cards, and will help card issuers improve block-and-reissue strategies. The third fraud patent was awarded for a mechanism that finds possible fraudulent transactions and also identifies potential fraud based on specific credit account data. These inventions were developed to be part of the FICO(TM) Falcon(R) Fraud Manager system, which protects some 65% of the world's credit cards.

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