Cloned, Hijacked and Fake Journals: What the Terms Mean
A cloned journal, also called a hijacked journal, is a fraudulent website built to impersonate a genuine scholarly journal. The operators copy the real title, the real ISSN, the logo, often the editorial board names and sometimes entire issues, then host the copy on a domain the real publisher does not control. Because the identity is genuine, every database search by name returns the real journal's good record, and an author who does not check carefully concludes that the site in front of them is indexed, listed and safe. The fee is paid, the paper appears on the clone or nowhere, and the publication counts for nothing.
Clones are one species in a wider family. A predatory journal is a journal that exists under its own name but charges fees without providing real peer review or editorial services. A fake journal may be invented entirely, with a title designed to resemble a known one. A cloned online version of a print-only journal is a particular trick that UGC's clone alerts documented repeatedly: a genuine print journal with no website is given one by fraudsters, who then collect online submissions in its name. The detection method is the same for all of them, and it begins with the ISSN rather than the name.
Anatomy of a Clone: How the Fraud Works
Understanding the mechanics makes detection almost automatic. A clone is built in a few repeatable steps, each of which leaves a trace you can find.
- Choose a targetA journal with a valuable badge: past UGC CARE status, Scopus coverage, or a print title with no website.
- Copy the identityTitle, ISSN, logo, board names, aims and scope, sometimes whole issues.
- Register a lookalike domainA different top-level domain, a hyphen, a spelling change, or "journal" added.
- AdvertiseBulk email invitations, paid search ads, listings on fake indexing directories.
- CollectManuscripts and fees, usually before any review, often to a personal account.
- DisappearThe domain lapses or moves once complaints accumulate; the papers go with it.
Five Kinds of Clone and Fake Journal You Will Meet
The hijacked website
A full copy of an existing online journal on a new domain. The real journal often does not know for months. Detected by comparing the ISSN record's URL with the site's URL.
The print-only journal given a fake online home
A genuine print title, often in a regional language or a niche discipline, acquires a website it never built. The ISSN record shows a print ISSN only and no publisher URL; the site invents one.
The lookalike title
A new journal whose name differs from a reputable one by a word or an acronym. Its ISSN is its own, so the ISSN check passes; the giveaway is the deliberate confusion and the missing process pages.
The badge collector
A journal under its own name that displays Scopus, Web of Science, UGC and "impact factor" badges with no matching records anywhere. Detected by searching its ISSN in each database it claims.
The discontinued journal still selling
A journal that was once indexed, lost coverage, and continues to advertise the old status. Detected by reading the coverage years on the Scopus Sources or Master Journal List record.
Why Clones Target Indian Researchers, and What UGC Did About It
Clones follow demand. For six years the UGC CARE list decided which journals counted for PhD submission, appointment and promotion in India, so a CARE-listed identity was worth stealing. The UGC-CARE Cell at Savitribai Phule Pune University received complaints, scrutinised them against the CARE protocol, removed journals found to be running unethical practices, and published separate clone-alert pages for Group I and Group II titles. Those pages remain online as a historical record at the Group I clone alert and the Group II clone alert.
- 2019
The CARE list launches. Within months, cloned versions of listed journals appear, particularly of print-only Indian-language titles.
- 2020 to 2023
UGC publishes and periodically updates clone alerts for both groups, and states that publication in a cloned journal will not count for any academic purpose.
- 2022
Retraction Watch launches a public, continuously updated Hijacked Journal Checker, giving researchers worldwide a single place to search suspected clones.
- 3 October 2024 to 11 February 2025
UGC decides to discontinue the CARE list and announces it. The badge loses its official meaning, but clones keep using it because many authors have not heard.
- July 2025 onward
UGC's Suggestive Parameters replace the list. Verification becomes each author's responsibility, which makes clone detection a core research skill rather than a librarian's job.
The 20-Point Cloned and Fake Journal Detection Checklist
Work through the table in order. The first five checks take about five minutes and catch most clones outright; the rest build a complete picture for borderline cases. Record a yes or no for each, with a screenshot, and keep the file with your submission records.
| # | Check | How and where | Clone signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ISSN record matches the site | portal.issn.org, search the ISSN | Different publisher, country or URL in the record |
| 2 | Domain matches the ISSN record or database record | Compare the URL character by character | Extra hyphen, different top-level domain, added word |
| 3 | Domain age | A WHOIS lookup service | Registered months ago for a journal claiming decades of history |
| 4 | DOIs resolve to this site | Open three DOIs from different issues | They land on another publisher's pages, or do not resolve |
| 5 | Listed in a hijacked-journal database | Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker; UGC clone alerts | Title or ISSN appears |
| 6 | Scopus coverage, if claimed | Scopus Sources, by ISSN; read coverage years and the URL on record | No record, discontinued coverage, or a different URL |
| 7 | Web of Science coverage, if claimed | Clarivate Master Journal List, by ISSN; note the collection | No record, or publisher mismatch |
| 8 | DOAJ listing, if claimed | doaj.org, by ISSN | No record |
| 9 | Editors verifiable | Two editors' institutional pages; email one through that page | No institutional trace, or the editor denies involvement |
| 10 | Contact details institutional | Contact page | Free webmail only, no postal address, no telephone |
| 11 | Peer review policy documented | Policy page | Missing, or "guaranteed acceptance" |
| 12 | Fee stated before submission and due after acceptance | Charges page | Fee appears by email; payment requested before review |
| 13 | Payment to the publisher | Payment instructions | Personal account, mobile wallet or crypto |
| 14 | Archive coherent | Browse three issues | Gaps, duplicated articles, papers off scope, broken PDFs |
| 15 | Article metadata consistent | Compare article page, PDF header and DOI metadata | Different journal names or ISSNs across the three |
| 16 | Timeline realistic | Author guidelines | Publication promised within days |
| 17 | Licence and copyright stated | Policy page | No licence; copyright transfer demanded before acceptance |
| 18 | Indexing claims specific | Count the badges; verify the two that matter | "Indexed in 100+ databases" with none verifiable |
| 19 | Invitation received unsolicited | Your inbox | Flattering email, off-field topic, urgent deadline |
| 20 | Web search for the name plus "clone", "hijacked" or "predatory" | Any search engine | Warnings from libraries, researchers or the real publisher |
Checks one to five are the ones a clone cannot pass, because they rely on records held by third parties. If any of the five fails, stop; you do not need the other fifteen.
How Clones Fake Scopus and Web of Science Indexing
Scopus and Web of Science are the badges most worth faking, so clones have developed specific techniques for each. The defence is the same in both cases: never accept a claim from the journal's own site, and verify by ISSN in the database's own list.
What the clone does
- Displays the Scopus or Web of Science logo as a static image with no link
- Quotes "Scopus Source ID" numbers that belong to the genuine journal
- Copies a CiteScore or quartile from the real journal's SCImago page
- Links the logo to the real journal's database record, hoping you will not compare URLs
- Sends email offering "fast-track Scopus publication" or "guaranteed Web of Science acceptance"
- Cites coverage that ended years ago as if it were current
What you do
- Search the ISSN in the public Scopus Sources title list; read publisher, coverage years and URL
- Search the ISSN in the Clarivate Master Journal List; read the collection and publisher
- Compare the URL in the database record with the site asking for your paper
- Treat any "fast-track" or "guaranteed" offer as proof the sender is not the database
- Remember that neither Scopus nor Clarivate publishes journals or accepts manuscripts
- Keep a screenshot of the database record with the date
Verification Tools and What Each One Tells You
| Tool | What to search | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| ISSN Portal (portal.issn.org) | The ISSN printed on the site | Registered title, publisher, country, medium and often the genuine URL |
| Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker | Title, ISSN and the submission site URL | Whether the title has a confirmed clone and which URL is the fake |
| UGC CARE clone alert pages | Title | Historical clone warnings for Group I and Group II titles |
| Scopus Sources | ISSN | Coverage, publisher, URL on record, discontinued status |
| Clarivate Master Journal List | ISSN | Collection (SCIE, SSCI, AHCI, ESCI) and publisher |
| DOAJ | ISSN | Open access listing and the licence on record |
| Crossref metadata search and DOI resolver | A DOI from the site | Which publisher registered the DOI and where it resolves |
| WHOIS lookup | The domain | Registration date and, sometimes, registrant country |
| Think. Check. Submit. checklist | The journal's policies | A structured review of editorial transparency |
| Your library or research cell | The journal name | Local warnings and your institution's own rule |
Note that SCImago is built on Scopus data, so checking both is not two independent confirmations, and that Google Scholar has no source list, so it cannot confirm or deny anything about a journal's legitimacy.
Reading a Journal Invitation Email
Most clone victims arrive by email. A genuine call for papers from a journal you have never heard of is rare; a flattering, urgent, off-topic invitation is the standard opening of a clone or predatory operation. Read invitations against this list before you click anything.
- It praises a paper of yours by title, then invites work in a field unrelated to it.
- It promises review in days and publication within a week or two.
- It names Scopus, Web of Science or UGC in the subject line as a guarantee.
- It links to a domain that differs from the publisher's known domain, or hides the URL behind a button.
- It comes from a free webmail address or a domain registered recently.
- It offers a discount for paying quickly, or asks for payment before any review.
- It invites you to join the editorial board of a journal outside your field.
- It contains the same text found on dozens of other "journals" when you search a sentence of it.
What to Do If You Already Submitted or Paid
Discovering a clone after the fact is distressing, but the damage is usually recoverable if you act in order and quickly. The sequence below reflects what publication ethics advisers and editors recommend; it is general guidance, not legal advice, and your institution's research office may add steps of its own.
- Stop payingMake no further payment, whatever the email threatens.
- Withdraw in writingEmail a dated withdrawal of the manuscript; keep every message.
- Dispute the paymentContact your bank or card issuer immediately; dispute windows are short.
- ReportTell your research cell, library and supervisor; submit the case to the hijacked-journal checker.
- Secure your rightsIf you never signed a copyright transfer, your paper is still yours to submit elsewhere.
- Resubmit honestlyTell the new journal what happened; editors accept the evidence.
Three questions people ask at this stage
Should I pay the withdrawal fee they are demanding? No. A fee invented after the fact to release a manuscript is part of the fraud, and paying it funds the next victim. Refuse in writing and move on. Will the clone publish my paper anyway? It may post the PDF. That is not a publication in any sense a committee recognises, and your written withdrawal, kept with dates, establishes that you did not consent. Is my paper now "previously published"? Explain the situation to the editor of the journal you submit to next and include your withdrawal correspondence. Editors deal with this regularly and will normally proceed.
What Publishing in a Clone Actually Costs
No academic credit
The publication does not count for PhD submission, promotion points or grant reporting, because it did not happen in the journal it claims.
Lost money and time
Fees paid to a clone are rarely recovered without a bank dispute, and the manuscript still needs a genuine home, months later.
Record damage
A paper on a cloned site can surface in a search of your name years later and must be explained in every evaluation.
Harm to the real journal
Genuine journals lose authors, reputation and sometimes database coverage while a clone operates in their name, which is why editors need the warning as much as authors do.
For Editors: Protecting Your Own Journal From Being Cloned
Journal owners read this guide from the other side. A journal cannot stop a criminal copying its pages, but it can make the clone easy to expose and hard to profit from. The practices below are what make the three mismatches in the diagram above obvious to any author who checks.
- Keep your ISSN record current at the ISSN national centre, including the publisher name and the genuine URL, so the register points to you.
- Register Crossref DOIs for every article and keep metadata accurate; DOIs that resolve to your domain are a clone's weakest point. JWDOI (jwdoi.org) registers DOIs and deposits metadata for journals without direct Crossref membership.
- Publish full editorial board details with institutional affiliations, and ask members to acknowledge the role on their own pages.
- Run submissions through a journal management system with a single, well-known portal URL and a full record of each step, so that "submit by email to this address" is never your process. JWJMS (jwjms.org) provides this workflow.
- State fees, timing and payment accounts on one page, and never vary them by email.
- Monitor for clones: search your title regularly, set alerts, and report any clone to the ISSN centre, the databases that index you, the hijacked-journal checker and the hosting provider.
- Deposit published articles in an open repository such as OpenRGATE (openrgate.org) so that the authentic version of record is findable outside your own site.
Journals in Our Network, Checked Against This Guide
The three journals below are published within the same network as this site, and each can be run through the twenty checks above. JMVRA's ISSN 2984-8911 resolves on the ISSN Portal to the Journal of Modern and Versatile Research Approach; its DOIs are registered under the Crossref prefix 10.56975 and resolve to jmvra.org; its editorial board, peer review policy, CC BY 4.0 licence and fees (971 rupees for Indian authors, US$41 for international authors, payable only after acceptance) are published on the site; and it accepts submissions only through its own portal. JMVRA does not appear on any clone alert and claims no Scopus, Web of Science or DOAJ coverage.
Journal of Modern and Versatile Research Approach (JMVRA)
- ISSN 2984-8911 Verify ISSN
- ESTD 2023 · Publisher JMVRA Publication · Website jmvra.org
- Impact Factor 11.25* · Crossref DOI prefix 10.56975
- Publication fee ₹971 Indian authors · US$41 international — payable only after acceptance
- Aligned with UGC’s Suggested Parameters for Choosing Peer-Reviewed Journals
TIJER – International Research Journal
- ISSN 2349-9249 Verify ISSN · ESTD 2014 · Website tijer.org
- Publication fee Low cost ₹970 INR Indian · $50 USD international
- UGC CARE Approved, Transparent Peer-Reviewed (Refereed) Journal as per new UGC Notification
- Multidisciplinary · Monthly · Crossref DOI · Indexing in all major databases & metadata
Journal of Novel Research and Innovative Development (JNRID)
- ISSN 2984-8687 Verify ISSN · ESTD 2023 · Website jnrid.org
- Publication fee Low cost ₹970 INR Indian · $50 USD international
- UGC CARE Approved, Transparent Peer-Reviewed (Refereed) Journal as per new UGC Notification
- Multidisciplinary · Monthly · Crossref DOI · Indexing in all major databases & metadata
* JMVRA’s 11.25 is a calculated metric based on citations from Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar. It is not an official Clarivate Journal Impact Factor (JCR). TIJER and JNRID details are as stated by their publisher. Full comparison: Our Journals.
If you ever receive an email claiming to be from JMVRA that asks for payment before acceptance, links to a domain other than jmvra.org, or offers guaranteed acceptance, it is not from us. Forward it to [email protected].
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cloned / hijacked journal | A fraudulent website impersonating a genuine journal using its title and ISSN. |
| Predatory journal | A journal that charges fees without genuine peer review or editorial services, under its own name. |
| Lookalike title | A journal named to be confused with a reputable one, with its own ISSN. |
| ISSN | International Standard Serial Number; the register entry records the genuine publisher and medium. |
| DOI | Digital Object Identifier; resolving one shows which publisher registered it and where the article lives. |
| WHOIS | A public lookup of a domain's registration date and registrar. |
| Coverage years | The period a database indexed a journal; an end year in the past means discontinued coverage. |
| Hijacked Journal Checker | Retraction Watch's public, continuously updated list of confirmed cloned journals and their fake URLs. |
| Clone alert | UGC CARE's historical pages warning of cloned Group I and Group II titles. |
| Withdrawal | A dated written notice removing a manuscript from a journal's consideration. |
Conclusion: Start From the ISSN, Finish With a Record
A cloned journal survives on one assumption: that you will search by name, see the genuine journal's good record, and trust the site in front of you. Break that assumption and the clone has nothing. Search by ISSN, compare the registered URL with the one in your browser, resolve three DOIs, check the hijacked-journal databases, and only then read the policies. If a site fails, walk away; if you have already paid, stop paying, withdraw in writing, dispute the charge and report it. And apply the same twenty checks to every journal, including ours. A journal that publishes a clone-detection guide should be the easiest one to verify, and you can test that claim before you submit your paper to JMVRA.
How Journey & Wisdom Helps
JMVRA is published within the Journey & Wisdom group, which runs four shared services — similarity checking, journal management, DOI registration and conference management — and thirteen publication platforms. These are the ones that matter most for this guide. For anything not listed here, email [email protected] or message WhatsApp +91 91063 65667 to discuss your requirement.
JWDOI
Crossref DOI registrationRegisters Crossref DOIs and deposits article metadata, and gives journals a sponsored DOI prefix without joining Crossref directly — for journals, books, chapters and proceedings.
jwdoi.org
JWJMS
Journal management systemRuns the editorial workflow: online submission portal, author dashboard, desk screening, reviewer invitations and reminders, revision rounds, decisions, issue building and publication scheduling — with a full record of every step.
jwjms.org
JWSCAN
Plagiarism & similarity checkChecks a manuscript for similarity before submission with iThenticate (by Turnitin) and returns an overall similarity index with a source-by-source report editors can act on.
jwscan.org
OpenRGATE
Repository & discoveryA free open-access repository and journal-discovery platform where finished work is deposited so it stays findable.
openrgate.orgSee every Journey & Wisdom product and platform · JW ecosystem map
How to check whether a journal website is a clone: step by step
Find the ISSN on the site and search it at portal.issn.org
Note the registered title, publisher, country, medium and any URL in the record.
Compare the registered URL with the site's URL
Look for a different top-level domain, an added hyphen or word, or a changed spelling; any difference is a stop signal.
Check the domain age
Run a WHOIS lookup; a domain registered months ago for a journal claiming years of history is a clone signal.
Resolve three DOIs from different issues
Confirm each lands on an article page on the same domain you are checking.
Search the title and ISSN in the Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker and the UGC clone alerts
A match ends the investigation.
Verify every indexing claim by ISSN in the database's own list
Scopus Sources, the Master Journal List and DOAJ; read coverage years and the URL on record.
Verify two editors independently
Find their institutional pages and contact one through that page, not through the site.
Read the fee, review and licence pages
Fee stated before submission and due after acceptance, review model documented, licence named.
Search the journal name with "clone", "hijacked" and "predatory"
Read what libraries and researchers have reported.
Record your findings and submit only through the verified domain
If you have already paid a clone, stop paying, withdraw in writing, dispute the charge and report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cloned journal?
A cloned or hijacked journal is a fraudulent website that copies a genuine journal's title, ISSN, logo and often its editorial board and layout onto a domain the real publisher does not control. It collects manuscripts and fees by trading on the real journal's reputation and database records, while providing none of its peer review. Papers "published" there carry no academic credit.
How do I check if a journal is fake or cloned?
Start from the ISSN, not the name. Search it at portal.issn.org and compare the registered publisher and URL with the site in front of you. Then resolve three DOIs, search the title in the Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker and the UGC clone alerts, and verify any indexing claim by ISSN in the database's own list. A mismatch at any of these steps means the site is not what it claims.
What are the warning signs of a cloned journal?
An ISSN record naming a different publisher or URL, a recently registered lookalike domain, DOIs that resolve to another site, database logos with no matching records, editors who cannot be reached through their institutions, free webmail contact only, fees requested before review or to a personal account, publication promised within days, and an unsolicited, flattering invitation email.
How do cloned journals fake Scopus or Web of Science indexing?
They display the database logos as static images, quote the genuine journal's Scopus Source ID or CiteScore, link badges to the real journal's record hoping you will not compare URLs, and send email offering fast-track or guaranteed indexed publication. Neither Scopus nor Clarivate publishes journals or accepts manuscripts, so any such offer is not from them. Verify by ISSN in each database's own list.
Where are the official UGC CARE cloned journal lists?
The UGC-CARE Cell at Savitribai Phule Pune University published separate clone-alert pages for Group I and Group II titles on the ugccare.unipune.ac.in portal during the list era. They remain online as a historical record. Since UGC discontinued the CARE list in 2025 they are no longer updated, so combine them with the Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker for current cases.
What should I do if I already paid a cloned or predatory journal?
Stop any further payment, email a dated withdrawal of your manuscript and keep every message, contact your bank or card issuer promptly to dispute the charge, and report the site to your research cell, library and the hijacked-journal checker. If you never signed a copyright transfer, the paper remains yours; explain the situation to the next journal's editor and include your withdrawal correspondence.
Should I pay a withdrawal fee to get my manuscript back from a fake journal?
No. A fee invented after submission to release a manuscript is part of the fraud, not a legitimate charge, and paying it funds the next victim. Refuse in writing, keep the correspondence as evidence of your withdrawal, and submit elsewhere. Genuine journals do not hold manuscripts to ransom.
What happens if I publish in a cloned journal?
The paper is not recognised for PhD submission, promotion scoring or grant reporting, because it was not published in the journal it claims. Fees are rarely recovered without a bank dispute, the manuscript still needs a genuine home, and the PDF may surface under your name for years and need explaining in evaluations.
Is a low publication fee a sign that a journal is cloned?
No. A clone is defined by deception, a copied identity and unverifiable claims, not by its price; many charge premium fees because a high number reads as prestige. A low fee attached to a verifiable ISSN, resolving DOIs, named editors, a documented review process and payment after acceptance is simply affordable publishing. Judge by the checklist, not the number.
How can a journal protect itself from being cloned?
Keep the ISSN record current with the genuine URL, register Crossref DOIs that resolve to your own domain, publish full editorial board affiliations, run submissions through a single known portal rather than email, state fees on one page, monitor for lookalike sites, deposit articles in an open repository, and report any clone to the ISSN centre, the indexing databases, the hijacked-journal checker and the clone's host.
Is JMVRA on any cloned journal list?
No. JMVRA is not a cloned title and does not appear on any clone alert. Its ISSN 2984-8911 resolves on the ISSN Portal to the Journal of Modern and Versatile Research Approach, its DOIs under the Crossref prefix 10.56975 resolve to jmvra.org, and it accepts submissions only through its own portal. Apply the twenty checks to it as you would to any journal.
Where do I submit a paper safely?
Only through the journal's own website, reached by typing its known domain or by following the link in its record on a database you trust, never through a link in an unsolicited email. Confirm the fee page states payment after acceptance, keep your registration ID, and pay only through the accounts listed on the site itself.
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Publish Your Research in JMVRA
Peer-reviewed, open access (CC BY 4.0), monthly and multidisciplinary · ISSN 2984-8911 · ₹971 for Indian authors and US$41 for international authors, payable only after acceptance.