Marketers are expected to lose $1.3 billion this year in online ad spending because of fake influencer followers, a global economic study by CHEQ has revealed.

The military-grade cybersecurity company commissioned a report about the scale of fraud in the emerging influencer market, undertaken with the University of Baltimore business school, using the latest economic analysis, proprietary CHEQ data, and expert interviews.

The report finds that the direct global economic costs of fake followers in influencer marketing are conservatively placed at $1.3 billion. Indirect costs, through erosion of trust and impact on brands, are likely to bring longer-term economic losses.

The study finds that with marketers turning to influencer marketing as a more effective and authentic channel, at least 15% of influencer’s followers are fake. Left unchecked the level of fraud in influencer campaigns is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2020.