Aamir Raoof Memon  ( Institute of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah, Pakistan )
Muhammad Ehab Azim  ( Foundation University Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences, Foundation University, Islamabad )

Publishing a manuscript or presenting at a conference are considered valuable accomplishments in one\\\'s professional career. However, it is necessary that the outlet be a legitimate rather than a fraudulent or predatory one. Predatory journals have been explored previously to a greater extent but the conference version of predatory entities is the newest iteration. To date, very few studies have endeavored to address the nuisance of predatory conferences and to explain the full magnitude
of their significance. Our study addresses the issue of predatory conferences as an educational article for the readership of the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association, and highlights their features, available literature on predatory conferences, and puts forward several new suggestions to avoid falling prey to these illegal entities.
Keywords: Developing countries; Predatory publishing; Research fraud; Scientific conferences.

How would you feel to be invited as a speaker or even a chair to present at an international conference? Such invitations might sound highly promising by saying "it gives me pleasure to invite you on behalf of the Organizing Committee to be a Speaker at….", or perhaps "we would like to extend to you a formal invitation as the Speaker of session….", or "we would like to solicit your gracious presence as a speaker at the upcoming International Conference….". Such an invitation would especially attract young researchers who are struggling to improve their resume, add citations in high-impact journals, and establish themselves as thought leaders in the community.^1,2 But how does one likely respond to an invitation to present at a conference that has nothing to do with his or her expertise?³ For instance, an invitation to a physiotherapist to present at a conference on nanotechnology would be a strange combination. It would be more likely that a physiotherapist would present something on research ethics at a life sciences conference under the theme of pathology or drug delivery. Fraudulent or predatory conferences are poor quality meetings, representing an emerging hazard, with rapid
expansion.¹ These conferences are organized by revenueseeking illegal entities rather than organizations or legitimate groups within the scientific community, mimicking names of reputable conferences, operating through a pay-to-play model, and who have little concern for scientific value.^1,4 Organizers of such conferences send unsolicited electronic spam to authors, inviting them to present at a conference.¹ The most likely victims of such conferences are naïve and inexperienced academics with limited skills and training, striving to accelerate their careers.⁵ It might also be noticed that "young researchers are commonly exposed to predatory publishers and fraudulent conferences following a single publication as a corresponding author."¹ Such flagrant violators are believed to originate predominantly from Asian and African countries however, organizers of predatory conferences are not limited only to developing countries.^1,5 For example, a study found that 43.8% of fraudulent conferences were organized in the USA and UK.¹ Previous studies have also highlighted the most commonly reported predatory conference organizers.^4,5 Another study with authors from the West reported receiving 109 (out of 578) invitations from potential predatory conferences.⁶ The more likely reasons for higher rates of predatory conferences in developing countries is the existence of a point system where promotion is based on the number of points gained through attending a conference, and facilitation of their propagation by government offering subsidies for such trips.⁵ One may consider publishing a manuscript or presenting at a conference as valuable professional accomplishments in his or her professional career. However, it is important to ensure that the venue for publishing research or presenting at conference be legitimate. Presenting at a predatory conference either by lack of knowledge or voluntarily has dramatic consequences.¹ Because of such instances, junior researchers (especially from developing countries) face more challenges and inequalities when competing for grants.^1,7 Pressure to publish further increases the vulnerability to fall prey to predatory conferences.¹ Predatory journals have been explored previously to a higher level but the conference version of predatory entities still remains unexplored.^{1,3, 8} However, scientific publications that have attempted to explore predatory conferences are limited to specific geographic regions or types of manuscripts [Table-1].



It may be recognized that predatory publishing has a lot more in common with the predatory conferences.^4,9 Although Crees PE in her paper has given an extensive criteria for determining predatory conferences ⁵ some of the common features of the predatory conferences are:^4,5,10

1. The conference name usually has attractive labels such as "International," "Global," "World," or "Universal," seemingly reflecting that the presenter would disseminate his/her research to an international audience. However, one might notice very few conference attendees or attendees are as equal in numbers as those presenting at the conference.

2. In some cases, predatory conferences may mimic the name of legitimate conferences with a slight difference su ch as Entomology 2013 (legitimate) and Entomology-2013 (predatory).

3. The conference has a multi-disciplinary and wideranging focus. The themes and objectives of the conference might not be reflective of its title. Moreover, content of a theme may not be relevant to it and conference objectives are often vague.

4. Promise that conference papers will be presented in an indexed, high-impact factor journal, which might not be true and may be a predatory journal. It might be difficult for a young researcher to distinguish the good from the bad without additional education, training and mentorship.

5. No peer-review process or promises quick acceptance (may be in a few hours). It might be noticed that virtually all abstracts in such fraudulent meetings are accepted, resulting in an increased revenue generation for these fake journals.

6. Conference organizer/host/sponsors will be one who is not prominent in your field and is generally unknown to you. It might be likely that the details of the conference, including programme schedules, organizing committee members, and keynote speakers, might be missing or vague. Organizers of such conferences select a fancy tourist destination as the conference venue but when attendees arrive, there is no hotel room or accommodations.

7. Such conferences display the names of eminent researchers without their knowledge or may lack their details, and in some cases, they may display some scientists with an expert background as their committee members who may in fact, not be true. Similarly, they offer keynote speaker opportunities to novices, best paper awards and certificates.

8. Fees for conference presentation are mandatory, and are in fact higher than the conference registration fees in most of the cases. Similarly, individuals are requested to pay fees through Western Union or are requested to transfer the conference fee to personal bank accounts and do not have a refund policy. They claim that there is a limited number of seats for attendance so that the researchers pay the fee as soon as possible.

9. Conferences might be cancelled or delayed without any notice and conference organizations may refuse to refund the registration fees. Similarly, one may observe changes in the important dates or deadlines in such conferences.

10. The language in the unsolicited email spams by predatory conference organizers is not standard English, i.e., the words are misspelled or misused with several grammatical mistakes, using free e-mail accounts (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) and e-mails not associated with an organization.

11. Option to attend the conference virtually or present a paper and receive the conference certificate of attendance is a red flag. Similarly, lack of abstract submission guidelines is a feature of fake conferences.

12. It might be noticed that invitations from such conferences use "flattery, specific reference to the recipient\\\'s previous work, and terms indicative of global reference may be used in invitations to entice researchers into submitting conference abstracts."

13. Like predatory journals, these conferences may lack contact details.

There is no shortage of predatory conferences around the world and some authors have attempted to identify several predatory conferences and organizers.^4-6 Several strategies also have been suggested and adopted to avoid predatory conferences. An example is of the website by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) called the FTC Complaint Assistant where predators can be reported.^5,9 Similarly, websites like the Chronicle of Higher Education and conferences warn researchers about bogus conferences.⁹Moreover, Beall\\\'s blog (although defunct now) served for several years as a source to help author avoid predatory journals, publishers, and conferences.^4,5,9, Speaking specifically in Pakistani context, training and skills about predators are deficient. It may be likely that most of us are receiving unsolicited spam mails inviting us to submit to predatory journals or present at a predatory conference and be their victims.¹¹ It is important to understand this in an international as well as national context. While attending or presenting at a conference (international or regional), researchers are advised to judgethe features of the conference and compare them to whathas been reported in this paper and in previous studies to be sure that they are not falling into the hands of predators [Table-1].^4,5,10,17

Conclusion

The aim of presenting at a conference should be research dissemination to a wide array of audience through a legitimate and reputable source.² Therefore, researchers must ensure that the regional conference caters international or nationally diverse population and their paper gets published in a reputable, indexed journal. Likewise, senior researchers and teachers who have experience in this topic may guide their junior trainees and faculty. Institutions and organizations teaching higher education should be wary of the rapidly emerging trend of predatory journals and conferences and should enhance education about them.^11,12 Funding agencies, government, and universities should consider suggesting policies against predatory conferences, refrain from funding such meetings, and should consider revising their promotion criteria with strict regulations. In this context, Monash University Australia has set an example by taking a serious stance against predatory publications and conferences.⁷ As such it does not count any work published in a fraudulent journal for career advancement (promotion, tenure) and any academic purpose (scholarship). It does not fund publishing in a predatory journal or attendance at a predatory conference; thus, students, faculty, and staff are required to check the legitimacy of the journal or conference before applying for funds. Similarly, it expects graduate students to include references from only legitimate journals in their work.⁷ Finally, the scientific community, especially the journal editors from developing countries, should enhance education about the least explored and highly growing predatory conferences. In this regard, we believe that the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association tak es t he initiative from Pak istan.

Disclaimer: None
Conflict of interest: None
Funding: None
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Dr. Phaedra E. Crees (Executive Editor, Aesthetic Surgery Journal) for reviewing this manuscript and her valuable suggestions.

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