How to Check If a Journal Is Fake or Real
· ORBIXER AI LABS
Some journals are not merely low quality — they do not exist at all, or they exist as someone else's stolen identity. Hijacked and fabricated journals collect real fees and real manuscripts from researchers who believe they are dealing with a legitimate publication. Checking whether a journal is real takes a few minutes and only free, official sources.
What Makes a Journal "Fake"?
A fake journal fails the most basic test of scholarly publishing: it is not what it claims to be. Sometimes that means a website impersonating a journal that exists elsewhere. Sometimes it means a journal invented from nothing — a title, an ISSN copied from a real serial, an editorial board of borrowed names. Either way, anything you submit or pay disappears into an operation with no scholarly standing.
The Three Kinds of Fake Journal
The hijacked journal
A hijacked journal clones the identity of a real, often respected title: same name, same ISSN, sometimes a pixel-copied website. Researchers submit and pay, believing they are dealing with the genuine journal, while the real editors never see the manuscript. Hijackers typically target journals whose official web presence is weak or print-only.
The fabricated journal
A fabricated journal is invented wholesale. The title sounds plausible, the website looks professional, the editorial board lists real researchers who have never heard of it. Nothing behind the facade exists: no office, no review process, no archive.
The zombie journal
A zombie journal was real once — but it ceased publication or lost its indexing, and a new operator continues collecting submissions under the old name. The title's history lends it unearned credibility. Checking current coverage, not historical reputation, is what catches this one.
How to Check If a Journal Is Fake or Real
Work through these five checks in order. Each uses a free, authoritative source, and together they take under ten minutes.
1. Verify the ISSN on the ISSN Portal
Every genuine serial has a registered ISSN. Look it up on the official ISSN Portal: the ISSN must be registered, and it must resolve to the exact title you are evaluating. A journal website displaying an ISSN that belongs to a different title — or to nothing at all — has failed the first test.
2. Cross-check indexing on official source lists
If the journal claims Scopus or Web of Science indexing, confirm it on the official lists — the Scopus Source List and the Clarivate Master Journal List — searching by ISSN. Our guide on checking whether a journal is Scopus indexed walks through the process step by step. A fake journal's boldest claims are usually its indexing claims, and they are the easiest to disprove.
3. Inspect the website domain
Hijacked journals live on domains that do not belong to the publisher: free hosting, recently registered lookalike domains, or addresses that differ by a hyphen from the real journal's home. Find the publisher's official website independently — not via a link from the journal site — and confirm it points to the same domain you are evaluating.
4. Verify the publisher's identity
A real publisher has a traceable existence: a verifiable address, a catalog of other journals you can independently confirm, and staff who respond from the publisher's own domain. Membership in bodies like COPE, OASPA or STM — checkable on those organizations' own member directories — is a positive signal. A publisher that exists only as a logo on one website is not a publisher.
5. Audit the published content
Read what the journal has actually published. Do the articles have DOIs that resolve? Are the authors real researchers with institutional affiliations? Does the archive show a coherent scope and a regular publication history? Fake journals often fill archives with nonsensical, plagiarized or machine-generated papers — or with nothing at all.
Journal Authenticity Checklist
- The ISSN is registered on the ISSN Portal and belongs to this exact title.
- Claimed indexing is confirmed on the official Scopus or Web of Science lists, by ISSN.
- The website domain is owned by the publisher it claims to represent.
- The publisher is independently verifiable, with a real catalog and contactable staff.
- Published articles have working DOIs and real, affiliated authors.
- The journal's coverage is currently active — not just historically indexed.
FAQ
What is a hijacked journal?
A hijacked journal is a fraudulent website that impersonates a legitimate journal — copying its name, ISSN and sometimes its entire design — to collect submissions and fees from researchers who believe they are dealing with the real title. The genuine journal's editors are usually unaware until authors ask where their papers went.
Can a fake journal have a real ISSN?
Yes — that is precisely how hijacked journals work. They display the real journal's genuine ISSN, which is why an ISSN must be checked in both directions: confirm the ISSN is registered, and confirm it resolves to the exact title and publisher you are evaluating. An ISSN copied onto a fake site proves nothing by itself.
What should I do if I already paid a fake journal?
Contact your bank or card provider about a chargeback immediately, inform your institution's research office, and report the site — hijacked-journal lists maintained by the scholarly community track these operations. Do not list the publication as a peer-reviewed output, and warn co-authors who may be targeted next.
Verify Before You Publish
Fake journals survive on skipped checks. Make verification a fixed step in your submission workflow: ISSN first, official indexing lists second, domain and publisher third. ORBIXER JournalShield automates the identity and domain checks, the Journal Finder only surfaces journals that have already passed them, and our guide to the ten warning signs of predatory journals covers the quality red flags once authenticity is confirmed.