Click spam, or click fraud, is a type of digital advertising fraud where a malicious actor attempts to generate revenue for clicks on ads without any real intention from an actual user. It artificially inflates the price of digital ad campaigns, costing advertisers billions of dollars annually.
Click spammers often target ads that offer pay-per-click (PPC/CPC) and cost per 1 thousand impressions (CPM) compensation, where the advertiser pays a certain amount of money for each click and ad view, respectively. The fraudsters can create a large number of these impressions and clicks, generating a profit for themselves while reducing the advertiser’s return on their investment.