US Patent 9294456 Gaining access to an account through authentication

A user locked out of an account can gain access by allowing the user to reset the current password. An account access service can determine questions to ask the user. The account access service can maintain a trust level score, which is increased or decreased with each response to a question. Once this trust level reaches a certain predetermined amount, the user can regain access to the service, the account is unlocked, and the user can enter a new password to use.