Of Snake Oil and Publication Subsidy

The analogue age was characterized by snake oil salesmen in the US, and became associated with medical fraud. Pyramid/ponzi schemes emerged a century later when finance capital became dominant, followed in the 2000s by the banking meltdown due to reckless lending and unregulated markets, and of course the narco economies are an enduring blight.  The digital age ushered in 419 scams, trading on individual gullibility. Yes, we all foolishly imagine we have an unknown uncle or aunt somewhere wanting to warehouse his/her millions in our bank accounts.

In tandem with the above, threats to the academic sector are growing daily, what with predatory open access journal invitations cluttering our mailboxes[1], and now predatory conference organisers  also.  These scamsters sport illustrated websites and organise phantom events run by ghosts in places like Washington DC, or in Johannesburg.   Predatory journals with fake impact metrics but real bank accounts offer 12 hour reviewing, and publish scientific garbage, as has been proven by article stings conducted by’ Science”[2].  Now there is a new set of threats facing legitimate journals.  These include: cloning, theft of titles, mimicking appearance, stealing websites and articles, and appointing fictitious board members.