How to spot fake scientists and stop them from publishing papers

"Beatriz Ychussie's career in mathematics seemed to be going really well. She worked at Roskilde University in Denmark where, in 2015 and 2016 alone, she published four papers on mathematical formulae for quantum particles, heat flow and geometry, and reviewed multiple manuscripts for reputable journals. But a few years later, her run of promising studies dried up. An investigation by the publisher of three of those papers found not only that the work was flawed, but that Ychussie didn't even exist."

"Her name is one of a network of 26 fictitious authors and reviewers that had infiltrated four mathematics journals belonging to the London-based publisher Springer Nature. These sham scholars were created by a paper mill, a company that manipulates peer reviews and sells fake research papers to researchers looking to boost their profile. By inventing a stable of fake scientists, paper mills can create a ready supply of publications and favourable peer reviews, ensuring that more of the mills' submissions get published."

"This particular paper mill used two dozen fake authors and reviewers to publish 55 articles - one of the biggest such cases reported. After a lengthy investigation, Springer Nature, which also publishes Nature, retracted all three papers. (Nature's news team is editorially independent of its publisher.) Other publishers have discovered similar fakes, with fictitious reviewers being more frequent than fake authors."

Beatriz Ychussie's academic record initially included four mathematics papers and multiple peer reviews in 2015–2016, but a later investigation found the work flawed and the author non-existent. A network of 26 fictitious authors and reviewers infiltrated four Springer Nature mathematics journals. A paper mill created sham scholars to manipulate peer review and sell fake research, producing publications and favorable reviews to boost clients' profiles. That mill used two dozen fake authors and reviewers to publish 55 articles; Springer Nature retracted three papers after a lengthy investigation. Researchers state the true scale of such fraud is unknown and fictitious reviewers appear common.

Read at Nature