Predatory Conferences: 15 Warning Signs Before You Register

Conference due diligence

What are predatory conferences?

A predatory or deceptive conference may use academic branding to collect registration, publication or travel fees while providing little of the scholarly review, audience, organization or proceedings quality that participants were led to expect.

Maintained by the Beallslists.com editorial review team · Evidence reviewed: · Current verification cycle: 2026

15 warning signs to investigate

  1. The event title closely imitates a respected conference.
  2. The scope combines many unrelated disciplines.
  3. The organizer's legal or institutional identity is unclear.
  4. Committee members cannot be independently verified.
  5. A hotel or city is advertised before a verifiable venue is confirmed.
  6. Submission and acceptance deadlines change repeatedly.
  7. Abstracts are accepted almost immediately with little review information.
  8. Invitations use exaggerated praise unrelated to your work.
  9. Fees are difficult to find or change during registration.
  10. Refund and cancellation terms are missing.
  11. Proceedings indexing is promised without a verifiable arrangement.
  12. Keynote speakers are listed without independent confirmation.
  13. Past conference photos, programs or proceedings cannot be found.
  14. The same event is marketed simultaneously under many unrelated names.
  15. Payment instructions use unrelated accounts or unusual pressure.

Five checks before paying

Confirm the organizer, venue, program committee, previous event record and proceedings plan independently. If the conference claims that papers will be indexed in Scopus or Web of Science, verify how that indexing would occur rather than relying on a logo.

A weak conference is not automatically predatory

Small or new conferences can be legitimate. The concern is a pattern of deceptive claims, unverifiable people, hidden business terms or a failure to provide the scholarly event that was promised.

If the invitation came by email

Use the same discipline you would use for a journal invitation: independently search the organizer and venue, and do not start from the links in the message. See the invitation email verification guide for a reusable method.

Sources and further verification

Historical records are useful context, but journal ownership, indexing, policies and websites can change. Verify current claims at the original source before making a submission, hiring, promotion or funding decision.