If you are doing research and your name and email address are on the website of your university or institution, you are at risk of being targeted by predatory publishers and becoming the victim of fraudulent publishing practices.

A predatory publisher typically operates by impersonating a journal editor or publisher and invites you to submit to the journal, to publish your work in Open Access, in return for a fee. Upon receipt of the payment, the journal editor will disappear and leave your work unpublished. No peer review or other editorial services are provided.

A checklist to avoid predatory practices:

• Check the journal title: predatory journals often have a title resembling an important title in your field, but slightly different
• Check the editor and their contact details; beware of email addresses associated with Gmail / Hotmail