Click fraud is a deceptive practice where individuals or automated systems artificially inflate the number of clicks on online advertisements. This can occur when competitors or malicious actors repeatedly click on ads to exhaust a company's advertising budget without any genuine interest in the product or service being promoted. This fraudulent activity can lead to significant financial losses for businesses, as they pay for clicks that do not result in real customer engagement. To combat click fraud, many companies use advanced tracking and analytics tools to identify suspicious activity and protect their advertising investments.