Predators in scholarly communication are commercial entities posing as service providers to the scientific community. However, their sole purpose is to generate profit through the collection of publication / conference fees, without adhering to established standards of scientific communication and publishing ethics.

Most often we meet the so-called predatory journals and publishers, who misuse the model of paid open access journals and collect publication fees (APC), although there is no quality control of articles before publishing (peer review), and predatory conferences, which do not provide services common to legitimate scientific conferences (selection of lecturers and review procedures).

The common signs of predators in science is the presentation of false information about their services, indexation in important databases and indexes, unclear payment terms and an aggressive way of addressing scientists through unsolicited e-mails. 

Other forms of predatory practice

In scientific communication, in addition to predatory journals/publishers and conferences, we encounter other fraudulent subjects that often target young and inexperienced scientists and offer a range of paid services of dubious quality. 

These include e.g.  academic author mill,  hijacked journals, and  suspicious (fake) scientomeric indicators.