Identifying fraudulent online applications

Abstract

A method of using browsing activity to identify fraudulent online or virtual applications includes receiving a virtual application over one or more radio frequency links, determining an applicant name on the virtual application, determining an IP address of a source computer from which the virtual application originated, determining an online browsing or search history associated with the IP address, determining whether the online browsing or search history indicates recent Internet searches for the applicant name, and, in response to determining that the online browsing or search history does indicate recent Internet searches for the applicant name, flagging the virtual application as fraudulent and generating an electronic alert indicating that the virtual application is fraudulent to facilitate identifying fraudulent virtual applications for goods or services.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A computer-implemented method of identifying fraudulent online applications, the method comprising:
 providing, by a computer system, an online application to a user device, wherein the online application includes a routine configured to retrieve online searching activity associated with the user device;   receiving, by the computer system, a submission of the online application including applicant data;   receiving, by the computer system, the online searching activity associated with the user device;   determining, by the computer system, whether the online searching activity associated with the user device indicates a search for the applicant data; and   in response to determining that the online searching activity indicates a search for the applicant data, performing, by the computer system, a fraud mitigation action including at least one of:
 flagging the submission of the online application as potentially fraudulent; or 
 generating an electronic alert indicating that the submission of the online application is potentially fraudulent. 
   
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the online searching activity is received as one or more data fields within the submission of the online application. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the online searching activity includes social media activity, and wherein the routine of the online application is configured to retrieve the social media activity associated with the user device. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the online searching activity includes an Internet search history, and wherein the routine of the online application is configured to retrieve the Internet search history from a search engine on the user device. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the submission of the online application includes a field indicating a GPS location of the user device, and wherein performing the fraud mitigation action is further based on the GPS location of the user device. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the submission of the online application includes an IP address of the user device, and wherein receiving the online searching activity comprises using the IP address to query the user device for the online searching activity. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 providing the online searching activity as input to a trained machine-learning program,   wherein performing the fraud mitigation action is based at least in part on an output of the trained machine-learning program.   
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining an existing user corresponding to the applicant data;   receiving, from a data source, a current user location of the existing user;   determining whether the current user location corresponds to a location of the user device; and   performing the fraud mitigation action, based at least in part on determining that the current user location does not correspond to the location of the user device.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein determining the online searching activity includes receiving, via a transceiver of the computer system, the online searching activity over a radio link. 
     
     
         11 . A system comprising:
 at least one processor;   a non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
 providing an online application to a user device, wherein the online application includes a routine configured to retrieve online searching activity associated with the user device; 
 receiving a submission of the online application including applicant data; 
 receiving the online searching activity associated with the user device; 
 determining whether the online searching activity associated with the user device indicates a search for the applicant data; and 
 in response to determining that the online searching activity indicates a search for the applicant data, performing a fraud mitigation action including at least one of:
 flagging the submission of the online application as potentially fraudulent; or 
 generating an electronic alert indicating that the submission of the online application is potentially fraudulent. 
 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the online searching activity is received as one or more data fields within the submission of the online application. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the online searching activity includes social media activity, and wherein the routine of the online application is configured to retrieve the social media activity associated with the user device. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the online searching activity includes an Internet search history, and wherein the routine of the online application is configured to retrieve the Internet search history from a search engine on the user device. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the submission of the online application includes a field indicating a GPS location of the user device, and wherein performing the fraud mitigation action is further based on the GPS location of the user device. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the submission of the online application includes an IP address of the user device, and wherein receiving the online searching activity comprises using the IP address to query the user device for the online searching activity. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , the operations further comprising:
 providing the online searching activity as input to a trained machine-learning program,   wherein performing the fraud mitigation action is based at least in part on an output of the trained machine-learning program.   
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations comprising:
 providing an online application to a user device, wherein the online application includes a routine configured to retrieve online searching activity associated with the user device;   receiving a submission of the online application including applicant data;   receiving the online searching activity associated with the user device;   determining whether the online searching activity associated with the user device indicates a search for the applicant data; and   in response to determining that the online searching activity indicates a search for the applicant data, performing a fraud mitigation action including at least one of:
 flagging the submission of the online application as potentially fraudulent; or 
 generating an electronic alert indicating that the submission of the online application is potentially fraudulent. 
   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the online searching activity is received as one or more data fields within the submission of the online application. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the online searching activity includes social media activity, and wherein the routine of the online application is configured to retrieve the social media activity associated with the user device. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the online searching activity includes an Internet search history, and wherein the routine of the online application is configured to retrieve the Internet search history from a search engine on the user device.