Code RoomReal-time fraud detection
HardPrep Room Coding #3696

Real-time fraud detection

System designML systemsDistributed systemsSenior–Staff~55 min

Design a real-time fraud-detection system for a payments platform processing 5k transactions/sec, where each transaction must get a risk score within a 100ms p99 budget to allow/deny/challenge. Fraud is rare (<0.5%), labels arrive days later via chargebacks, and adversaries adapt continuously. Cover the feature pipeline (including velocity/aggregate features), the model and decision layer, and how you keep up with evolving fraud patterns.

What a strong answer looks like

Clarify scale and constraints first. Propose a clean component breakdown, then go deep on the hard parts (data model, bottlenecks, consistency, failure modes) and name the trade-offs you are making.

Clarify6:00 left
Estimate6:00 planned
Design18:30 planned
Deep dive14:30 planned
Failure10:00 planned
0:00
Which questions mattered is sealed until you submit. Telling you now would just be handing over the edge cases.