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Hijacked journals are still a threat — here’s what publishers can do about them

A long-standing problem that affects publishers and authors alike, journal hijacking can damage reputations and steal article-processing fees.
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  1. Jackson Ryan

    1. Jackson Ryan is a freelance science journalist in Sydney, Australia.

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An artists illustration of a trap website address made of fish hooks.

Having no online presence can make journals vulnerable to hijacking attempts. Credit: weerapatkiatdumrong/Getty

Late last year, Liverpool University Press (LUP), a UK-based publisher, received a concerning e-mail. A prospective author had contacted the editors asking how much it would cost to publish an article in one of its journals, the International Development Planning Review (IDPR).

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02399-1

Nature Index’s news and supplement content is editorially independent of its publisher, Springer Nature. For more information about Nature Index, see the homepage.

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