Hijacked journals: how to avoid them?
What?
Hijacked journals are fake online copies of existing journals. It is a form of identity theft in which unsuspecting scientists submit an article for publication and end up in a situation of extortion. You can read exactly how hijacked journals work on the intranet.
How can you avoid hijacked journals?
- Always submit your manuscript via the journal's own website and avoid links from other platforms. Check whether the web link looks “normal”.
- Be extra careful when linking to forms or portals for registration or submission. Check the web link and layout here too. For example, it could be a red flag if you suddenly find yourself on a blank form with no reference to the journal's house style colours and logo.
- Check with colleagues whether it is customary for the intended journal to charge fees, how high they are and at what stage of the publication process you pay. For example, if the bona fide journal usually charges after peer review, a charge upon submission of the manuscript is suspicious.
- Pay attention to assessing the quality of a scholarly journal.
- Check the hijacked journals database before submitting. Negative experience? Help others and fill in the form to add to the database.
- If you have been victimised, please contact the secretariat of the Committee for Research Integrity.
Source reference
This tip was compiled in the autumn of 2025 and is based on:
Parker, L., Boughton, S., Beroc L., Byrned J. A. (2024). Paper mill challenges: past, present, and future. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Vol. 176, 111549, 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111549.
Abalkina, A. (2023), Publication and collaboration anomalies in academic papers originating from a paper mill: Evidence from a Russia-based paper mill. Learned Publishing, 36: 689-702. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1574
Ryan, J., Hijacked journals are still a threat — here’s what publishers can do about them. Nature Index, 23 July 2024, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02399-1
Singh Chawla, D., Hundreds of ‘predatory’ journals indexed on leading scholarly database. Nature News, 8 February 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00239-0
More tips
- (Paper) mills: how to deal with them? (Critical reading)
- Assess the quality of a scholarly journal (Publish)
Translated tip
Last modified Feb. 3, 2026, 4:01 p.m.