AI-Powered Predatory Journal
Email Checker
8 out of 10 unsolicited journal emails are predatory publisher spam — most designed to look completely legitimate.
Paste your invitation below — learn how to verify journal email authenticity in 30 seconds. Free. No account needed.
Stop Predatory Journal Spam Before It Traps You
We cross-reference your letter against verified databases — detecting journal email red flags that cost researchers careers and thousands in wasted APCs.
Scopus Journal Database
We check the journal against 45,000+ verified Scopus-indexed journals. We instantly confirm if it's indexed or pretending to be.
Predatory Journals Blacklist
Our continuously updated blacklist flags known predatory publishers and journals — so you know how to identify a fake journal invitation.
Publisher Whitelist
Elsevier, Springer, Wiley and 50+ trusted publishers are pre-verified. If they invite you — it's safe, instantly confirmed.
Who Gets Targeted by Predatory Journal Emails
Legitimate journal invitations come from institutional email addresses (e.g. @elsevier.com) — not Gmail or Yahoo. Check if the sender domain matches the publisher's official website, if the journal name is exactly correct, and if the email references your actual research. Paste the email into our checker for a verdict in 30 seconds.
Because free email accounts require no verification. A Gmail sender is one of the clearest journal email red flags. If the email doesn't come from a domain matching the journal's official website, treat it as a fake journal email.
Automated scrapers harvest corresponding author emails from PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and publisher sites the moment your article is published. Predatory spam email spikes right after your first publication.
Gmail/Yahoo sender, generic flattery with no reference to your paper, unrealistically fast review promises, unverifiable impact factors, urgent deadlines, and requests to submit via third-party forms.
Yes. After first publication your email enters scraped databases. The volume typically peaks in the first 3–6 months. Use a dedicated academic email, filter aggressively, and never reply or click unsubscribe in predatory emails.
Do not pay. These threats are almost always empty with no legal standing. Document everything, report to your institution's research integrity office, and file with COPE. Block and do not engage.
Reduce public email visibility, add spam filters with red-flag keywords, never reply to predatory emails, and use our checker to quickly triage incoming invitations.
Go directly to the journal's official website, check it in Scopus Source List, search the publisher in Cabell's or Beall's List, and cross-check the sender domain. Or paste the email here for instant verification.
Official publisher domain, addresses you by name with specific paper reference, clearly names the journal and ISSN, no urgency pressure, links to official submission system. If any are missing, treat as potentially fake.
Yes. Report to COPE (publicationethics.org), your university research integrity office, or the FTC if money was involved. Forward new predatory senders to us — we'll add them to our database.
Want the full picture?
The free check shows the surface. Our paid tools go deeper — so you never waste time or money on the wrong journal.
AI Risk Analyzer
Full deep analysis of any journal — 5 weighted criteria, Safety Score, and a clear verdict.
- Scopus indexation + publisher verification
- Publication volume dynamics
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- Safety Score with detailed breakdown
- PDF report delivered to email
AI Journal Matcher
Find the best-fit Scopus journals for your specific research — ranked by relevance.
- Matches abstract to 1,000+ Scopus journals
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