Though many articles are written on the subject, fake Scopus journals continue to flourish, only showing the gravity of the problem. And hundreds of researchers keep falling prey to these journals. Why? Simply because they lack the skills and perhaps time to check the authenticity of the claims.
But that is not all. As I started exploring this topic, I found that though there are many articles on the subject, and even some research articles published in the leading journals, but none provide practical insights.
Most articles written on the subject lack the debt. Perhaps, because most of those articles were written by people good at writing, arts, humanities, and sciences. But, almost none of the articles have been written by a person with a good understanding of information technology. As a result, most recommendations about identifying fake journals are too superficial and, as this study shows, are ineffective.
Thus, this article not only provides advice to identify fake Scopus journals. But it also provides a real-world case study.
After reading this article, most would be able to identify scammers and navigate out of the complex world of fake journals without falling prey.
My experience while writing this article shows that identifying fake journals is a highly challenging job. It requires spending a lot of time. However, it is a time worth spending. Therefore, it is better to spend some time identifying the right kind of journals rather than losing your manuscript, time, money, and nerves.
Beware, fake journals and predatory journals are two different things
One of the reasons why so many articles and YouTube videos fail to save people from falling prey to counterfeit journals is simple. Even the authors of these articles and YouTube videos do not understand that fake and predatory journals are not the same.
The fake Scopus or Web of Science journal is either completely fake or, more likely, a copy of the original journal. Sometimes, it may also mean a journal claiming to have those indexes, but in reality, they do not have or have lost those privileges.
Predatory journals, on the other hand, are real or genuine journals. They simply do not follow the best ethical editorial practices. It means that getting your article published in a predatory journal would still be acceptable. Moreover, there is a lack of a firm definition of predatory journals.
An article published in the journal Nature recently defined predatory journal as:
“Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices.”
So, of course, predatory journals are also better avoided. However, they are not fake.
But fake Scopus or Web of Science journals are a scam, a journal run by criminals. It means if you send them your article, even if you see it published on their website, it means nothing. So you lose everything in this case.
So, here are a few ways to identify a fake journal.
Start by checking the domain name
First, look carefully at the web address of the journal. For example, the web address of one of the reputed journals is: https://www.nature.com/ but not: http://thenature.com/ or not https://www.nature.edu
So, before starting your search for a good journal, ensure that you know the exact web address of that journal. As our case study shows, this can be a tedious task. Most Scopus or WoS-indexed journals are not as popular as the Nature.
Hence, writers generally do not know the correct domain address of the journal. Thus, before sending your manuscript, do some research. First, try to learn the valid domain name of the journal. This is the most reliable way to avoid fake journals!
But, finding the real web address of any journal may be quite challenging. Therefore, to find the real web address, browse websites hosting Scopus or WoS-indexed journals database.
However, as our case study shows, finding the correct web address is sometimes challenging. Even worse, some scammers may write that their journal is original, and the other one is fake – keep reading, and in my case study, I will show you how I had to go through such a problem where multiple fake journals were claiming to be the original one!
Check if the journal or the publisher is a member of a reputed organization/associations
Remember, the journey to becoming indexed in Scopus or Web of Science is long. It means that most publishers would first become members of some of the organizations that help ensure the quality of journals. Quite often, becoming a member of these organizations is the first step before applying for the Scopus or Web of Science.
Thus, check if the publisher is a member of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), or International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) or not.
If the publisher is a member of these organizations, chances are slim that their journal is predatory.
However, our experience shows that checking the membership of these organizations for the Scopus database may help identify predatory journals, but not fake ones. The problem is that fake journals use the name of the original publisher. They project themselves as someone they are not. They are imitators.
Thus, a fake journal is like a person impersonating to be, let us say, ex-US president Obama. The person has the exact face looks (almost), the same style of clothes, and also carries a fake passport. Checking the documents of scammers would not always help, as they are fake but an exact copy of the original one.
One of my friends, who got scammed, went through numerous articles in the fake journal. I even told him that I had a doubt about that journal. But he would not listen to me. He said that he had checked the articles in that journal, and all are Scopus indexed. However, the person forgot that scammers not only copy journals, they also add the copy of articles already indexed by Scopus or Web of Science. Thus, checking Scopus or WoS databases is not going to help.
In fact, fake journals give other signals that are easy to catch, yet many just neglect them. They are often overtaken by the excitement that their article has been so readily accepted and do not need to pay much. So they just try to unsee the visible.
For example, in my friend’s case, when I saw the journal, I could still see it as a half-baked product. Fake journals are rarely fully functional journals. Many things are missing in those journals, unlike the real ones.
It is also worth understanding that many reputed and high-impact factor journals are not members of the organizations mentioned earlier! Why? Well, simply because when they started their journey much before, these organizations and indexes came into existence. Over the tens of years, they have earned such a reputation that they do not even care about many such indexes and organizations.
Our case study, which we will discuss, is about one such journal, a reputed but impossible to find, and a journal with many fake copies claiming to be the original product.
Check the contact information of the journals
This seems pretty straightforward, but it is a factor many people neglect. Look at the address, location of the journal, and telephone. Why not give that journal a phone call? Not just see but crosscheck the information. Authentic journals would gently reply to your calls and emails. You would be able to sense that professional tone in the communication.
The way scammers communicate generally differs.
However, beware, these methods may only work in some cases. In most cases, scammers would provide detailed contact information. This is because they know they need to project themselves as genuine. They are perfect impersonators and good actors; confidence is their tool.
Similarly, also go through the editorial board of the journal. Good journals have quite an extensive list of editors and reviewers. It is pretty likely that one of the editors or reviewers might be from your country. In such cases, you can find the accurate contact information of those editors and reviewers and crosscheck with them about the reputation and originality of the journal.
Though fake journals would also have an editorial board, but all their members would be either fake. Or they might use the names of real people without their consent. After all, they are scammers; they are outlaws!
Pay attention to the peer review process and publication timelines
Even predatory journals take a few weeks. People are busy, and they have lots of tasks at hand. However, scammers differ. They want to materialize things quickly. They know that it is not long before they are exposed. So, they would be generally quite brisk at article approval and asking for the article processing fee.
Remember that getting indexed in Scopus or Web of Science is a time taking process. Hence, those who are indexed in Scopus or WoS would ensure at least, some kind of editorial process. They would check your manuscript for spelling and grammatical mistakes and plagiarism. They would also need to format your article a bit; then they have to make it production ready by converting it to publication format or pdf or easier distribution, and so on. All these processes take time, though not for scammers. Thus, do not hurry too much!
Ok, now enough of the theory, let us do a practical. It is impossible to understand all these things without a practical example!
A case report – How I found that both the journals I wanted to publish my manuscript were fake!
Since things keep changing, keep in mind that this case report was written on 25th May 2023. So, all the facts stated here were accurate on the date. However, things may change in the future, and many hyperlinks may not essentially work.
Quite like many of us, I, in fact, started looking for a journal for one of my friends. He wanted his article to be published in a “business management” journal.
So, quite like many other people, he wanted the quick publication of the article. He was looking for a journal that is Scopus indexed and could quickly accept his article, and must not be expensive.
Well, as one can see, the number one mistake people make is that they are in a hurry and do not want to do their own research. Thus, they are quite likely to believe others, including scammers.
So, like many other people, I searched for such a journal through Facebook groups. After all, there are many adverts ensuring quick turnaround, low cost, a guarantee of service, and so on.
Oh, lucky me!
Yes, I was quite lucky to see that finding Scopus-indexed journals is not an issue at all! There are so many Facebook, WhatsApp groups, and Telegram groups and forums filled with offers. It appears that there are more offers than authors.
Going through these ads, it seems that most journals are begging for articles, but they never seem to get anyone. Thus, they were forced to appoint mediators from third-world nations to represent their journals.
Quick and cheap publication, just pay some bucks, and your article is guaranteed to be published in some of the most reputed journals. Then, all you have to do is decide on the indexes you want.
Of course, you can message these guys (posting these ads on various chats and groups) and ask if they have a PubMed-indexed journal for engineering sciences or economics; most likely, their reply would be yes. They have products for every kind of need.
Seeing how many people are falling for these false promises and baits is unbelievable. It is incredible that people with Ph.D. or some of the most brilliant minds in their field readily trust those people with fake profiles, promising to publish their articles in fake journals. What is further extraordinary is to see that most of these individuals offering such services are from developing nations, and people barely with any educational background.
So, what we get is a person with a Ph.D. asking some guy who barely knows how to type in English and sitting in some third-world country about getting their article published in Scopus or WoS. Of course, acting on a “call for papers” by such individuals is a guaranteed recipe for tragedy.
However, I am still wondering whom to blame in such a case, a well-qualified person with a master’s or Ph.D.? Or a person who can barely connect a few words together?
There are so many people that believe that some of the best journals in the world have appointed a mediator with their office in some very mysterious place, a person who never went to college.
So, Rule number one – remember not to trust people in all those online forums claiming they can get your article published. They neither have qualifications nor do any journals appoint them as their representatives. Worst, they are illegally using all the logos like Scopus, Elsevier, and PubMed. They are committing the crime, they know it, and they have nothing to lose and by trusting these people, you become accomplices in crime.
But we were experimenting, so we continued and even asked what journals? So then this guy sitting somewhere on his laptop in the slums, this incredibly talented human, said that he has different journals or hundreds of them. So he has a magical power, given by perhaps God. And, of course, people believe.
We asked for details, please. The reply was in perfect Shakespearean English (pun intended): cheak your inbox. Well, I decided not to “cheak my inbox”.
So, I moved forward with my experiment. The next guy looked more persuasive, as he mentioned the Scopus-indexed journals that have appointed this esteemed personality as their sole ambassador in the virtual world of Facebook groups and beyond.
It does not matter how well the information is presented; remember that all these are scammers. A little hard work will help you readily understand the risk. For example, in this case, we decided to look at the person’s Facebook profile.
Just keep in mind that all these scammers have an imperfect social profiles. It is either newly created for reasons understood, without many personal photos or friends. Or even if the profile is old, it will give more sense of a habitual offender since scammers would never share much personal information in their profiles. Even if they had friends, they would be randomly added people to provide some authority to the profile.
Well, we still decided to move forward with our experiment. We were more interested in some direct proposals by some of the journals.
Finally, we found a journal that was Scopus indexed, looked real and cool, and had been publishing since the early 1990ies.
Yes, this particular report is mainly dedicated to the Scopus Indexed journal, which has been in business for three decades, and yet, all the offers we got were untrue!
We decided to proceed with “The Seybold Report,” a highly reputed and old journal with an excellent reputation and Scopus indexed. We clicked on the advert that took us to the website https://seyboldreport.org/
At first sight, everything looks perfect. However, there were a few things to notice. First, this site looked more like a blog. When we started clicking those “menus,” many would simply not work! Yes, that is a red flag. Moreover, in the name of contact, there was mainly email and no other way of manuscript submission. Not only that, it had an impact factor on its first page or homepage, which is now against the recommendations of DAOJ and other authorities in the publishing industry.
But, perhaps, the most significant attention went to the large red “Caution” button, and naturally, we clicked it.
This story has already started becoming interesting. These guys are now saying that there is some fake version of their journal at https://seyboldreport.net
When we visited another website, things became even more complicated as https://seyboldreport.net claimed they were real people and not the other way!
When we browsed this other website, it looked equally fake. This website also did not show signs of matureness, as if it was hurriedly created sometime back. However, the problem was that both websites showed signs of fake Scopus-indexed journals.
Now things have become really complicated for us. It became almost impossible to understand who was fake and who was real. Since creating fake copies of original journals is a common technique scammers use. So, one of these journals might be authentic and the other fake? But what to do when both are claiming to be original?
We went back to Mr. Google, and this is what we got.
Well, it seems that both of these guys have done a great job, and Google shows both journals! So, this did not solve our problem.
Therefore, logically, the next step was to check the Scopus database of approved journals.
But, damn, this did not solve our problem at all. It was shocking to see that though the journal is quite old and has been indexed by Scopus from time to time since 2005, Scopus did not have the indexed journal’s web address or domain address. It means that any of the two (seyboldreport.org or seyboldreport.net) could be original or fake.
Further, searching other reputed indexes did not solve the issue, as none pointed to the journal’s domain or the correct web address.
By now, we understood that we needed to dig deeper. Since these two journals have been able to increase their popularity over time and even get indexed in some indexes that have no value in the academic publishing world, and some were pointing at Seyboldreport.org, while others at Seyboldreport.net.
So, now we decided to dive deeper. We know that though they might have been able to get a good ranking in Google, they cannot whitewash all the historical information on Google. T
Thus, remember that Google is quite good for finding historical information and facts. Sometimes, one might need to go through a few search pages and look carefully at all the search results.
And Viola! Here comes the first hint by Mr. Google.
Just look carefully at what Google is saying. Seybold Publications is permanently closed!
After digging deeper and further, we also found some more exciting information.
We found the old report for Seybold publications, which says they are changing their web address from seyboldpubs.com to www.seyboldreport.com.
Now, this is interesting. It means that Seybold publication is closed. They have ceased to publish the journals. However, Scopus has still not updated its database, and thus the journal is still showing in the index. And these two guys have decided to create similar websites (seyboldreport.org and seyboldreport.net), which means that both of them are fake.
But, wait, we still needed some more soundproof that both these journals were fake. So, we went to the website https://seyboldreport.com
We found that some Japanese company was already using this domain name. However, we still have some doubts. Finding this web address does not prove that the two mentioned journals are fake.
And then I had an idea. Why not check the ISSN portal? And below is what we got.
Finally, we had sound proof that both journals were fake. The actual domain name or web address of the journal is www.seyboldreports.com. However, the publisher has closed their business, retracted their journals, and discontinued publishing, as evident from both the Google search and also by looking at the .com domain registered with the ISSN portal.
In fact, it appears that creating fake copies of discontinued or retracted journals is a big business and not something rare.
There is a website dedicated to the subject that has many such reports. https://retractionwatch.com/2023/05/26/three-journals-web-domains-expired-then-major-indexes-pointed-to-hijacked-versions/
But the problem is that most authors are scientific-minded people. They are great authors, researchers, teachers, and educators but are not good at identifying scams. After all, people of science can never understand the mind of scammers. For people of science, their creation and their contribution to science are, above all, the financial benefits.
So, I hope this report can serve as an alarm bell to my fellow researchers. It should serve as a reminder that spending time finding a good journal and doing the background check of any journal is as essential as doing scientific research and authoring the research articles.
