I have recently submitted a pre-print to medRxiv, which triggered a flurry of spam. I use this opportunity to react to the phenomenon of academic junk and predatory publishing more generally.
A typical mail goes something like this:
“The curious case of lower reported racial discrimination in healthcare”
Dear Dr. Didier Ruedin,
I trust this email finds you well.
We would like to invite you to submit an unpublished paper for publication in the Translational Medicine: Open Access ISSN: 2993-5407.
We request you to submit the mentioned article for consideration. We firmly believe that it would make a valuable addition to our collection of published works.
Submission Process: Please submit your manuscript to this email address as an attachment or Online Submission by March 19, 2026.
We look forward to receiving your submission.
Kind Regards,
[Name]
Managing Editor
They know my name, because their script can scrape it off the pre-print server (that's also where they get my e-mail address). Academic spam is almost always courteous.
You'll notice, all messages make explicit reference to the pre-print. It grabs your attention (familiarity), and it contains words that help it past the junk filter. They all come straight to the point: they invite you to submit the manuscript to their journal. Now, it's important to understand this proposition. Legitimate, reputable journals do not have editors scouring the internet for 'interesting' manuscript. To the contrary, they receive so many submissions that they are drowning in work. They don't have the time to look for even more work clogging their inbox. These e-mails come from predatory publishers: if you send your work there, you're almost certain of it to be 'accepted', there will not be serious peer review, and upon payment of a publication fee (APC), they put it on their website -- where nobody will see it. You probably get more visibility on the pre-print server, and your colleagues will not consider this a legitimate publication, because they have never heard about the journal. Notice also that the journal title bears no relation to the manuscript.
The mail will often include signals of 'legitimacy', like the ISSN of the journals. Anyone can apply for an ISSN, it's not a sign of quality. What we also see here is the artificial creation of urgency. This is an attempt to appeal to your gut feeling rather than rational thought. In this case, you should resist the 'opportunity' for a publication, because at best it'll only make you poorer, at worst it'll damage your reputation among peers.
Here's another one:
Dear Dr. Didier Ruedin,
Hope you are doing well.
We have not received your response yet, so we take the liberty to remind you again. Please respond to this email and let me know your decision.
I have seen your research profile, “The curious case of lower reported racial discrimination in healthcare”.
I am honored to extend an invitation to you to contribute a paper for publication in our regular of the Journal of Traditional Medicine & Applications, ISSN: 2833-1389.
I would be truly grateful if you could submit a paper for possible publication in this issue. We welcome research articles, reviews, case reports, short communications, and other relevant contributions.
We have 100+ journal databases your research area is suitable for anyone in these journals, and I can publish your manuscript.
I eagerly look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards,
[Name]
Managing Editor
Here we've got a bit more flowery language, but again a journal that is entirely out of scope. Had they really read the pre-print, they'd know. Obviously this is an automated process. Most academic journals are specific: they serve a specific niche of scholars working on similar topics. Predatory journals are often 'catch-all' to the extreme. Notice here how they basically offer to publish anything you throw at them, because who cares, as long as you send them your money. We also have some attempt to signal 'legitimacy' or 'importance' with a reference to journal databases.
While we're at it, let's look at one more:
Health Care Research & Case Reports Journal
QuiLive Publishers
Dear Dr. Didier Ruedin,
Greetings of the Day!
Hope you’re doing well.
On behalf of the editorial team of Health Care Research & Case Reports Journal, we are pleased to invite you to submit your original research or review article for possible publication in an upcoming issue of our journal. As part of our effort to support researchers and enhance accessibility, we are offering a partial waiver on the article processing charges (APC) for selected authors.
Your recent publication entitled “The curious case of lower reported racial discrimination in healthcare” in the field of Healthcare, Health System Research, Health Economics, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, Public Health is well recognized, and we believe your contribution would add significant value to our readership.
All submissions are subject to our standard double-blind peer-review process and must meet the journal’s editorial and ethical standards.
Kindly do submit the manuscript by reverting to this mail or through the Submission Link provided.
Do not hesitate to contact us for further queries. We look forward to your valuable submission and hope to collaborate with you in advancing scholarly communication.
Regards,
[Name],
Managing Editor,
Healthcare Research & Case Reports Journal,
Whatsapp: +44 [number]
*Note: Kindly show us your interest in joining our Editorial Board by attaching us your CV, Research Interests, Biography, Recent portrait photograph.
This one starts off a bit less formal, but again it's straight to the point. It's a bit better at picking up academic jargon like "for possible publication" and "ethical standards". They even offer to reduce their publication fee (from one arbitrary amount to another, I guess). Note the academic field they refer to: it's a bunch of unrelated, generic buzzwords.
There's another sure sign this is not legitimate: they offer me the opportunity to become part of the editorial board. This is not something a legitimate journal will do based on a single pre-print. They want your credentials, your name, picture, and university so that they can look more legitimate to others.
A final one:
Dear Dr. Didier Ruedin,
I hope you are doing well.
I am writing to follow up regarding your manuscript titled “The curious case of lower reported racial discrimination in healthcare” and its possible submission to Medicine & Pharmacology: Open Access (ISSN: 2996-2625).
We would appreciate it if you could kindly confirm whether you plan to proceed with the submission.
If you wish to move forward, please attach the manuscript in your reply so we may begin the review process.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.
Warm regards,
[Name]
Editorial Manager
They frame it as a follow-up mail, as if I had already agreed (or considered) sending my work.
So what can you do, how can you tell? First of all, context: journals do not scour the internet for possible manuscript, they get so many they can barely handle it. Second, these are journals I have never heard of. They may sound familiar to legitimate ones, and there are very rare cases of journal hijacking, but it's unknown journals. Do you know the editor or anyone on the editorial board by name, have you read some of their work? Do you know others who submit their work to that journal? Do you cite articles from this journal? If not, you might not look at the most suitable journal for your work (although not necessarily a predatory publisher). On their websites, predatory publishers often use stock photos. They typically don't have many recent articles, recent articles may be unrelated to what you work on, or recent articles are of questionable quality, and there's no long history of publication back to the first issue many years ago.
Discussing your publication plans with more experienced colleagues cannot harm. You may have a look where others in your narrow field publish, or see if there's a reputable university or academic association behind the journal. That's more useful that checking lists of predatory publishers.
For more, you may want to check out https://thinkchecksubmit.org/
Published 9 March 2026