Fake academic conferences in China dupe researchers with 4,600 yuan scam

A new scam is preying on academics in China: entirely fake academic conferences. Researchers like Liu Xia, a lecturer at a private university in Wuhan, are paying fees to submit papers to conferences that never take place. Liu needed a conference paper for a professional title evaluation and found an event promising inclusion in Compendex, a major engineering database by Elsevier. She paid 4,600 yuan (US$680) but later received a paper in an obscure journal that was not recognized by any academic database.

Liu told the South China Morning Post that the conference was 'entirely fabricated' — the event never happened, and even the organizing committee was made up. She emphasized that researchers are not unintelligent, but those unfamiliar with how conference publications work can easily fall into the trap. This 'grey industry' targets scholars under pressure to publish for career advancement, with scammers creating convincing yet fake calls for papers, fake websites, and fake proceedings.

The problem highlights a systemic issue in China's academic evaluation culture, where researchers are often evaluated based on the number of published papers or conference attendances. The scammers exploit this demand, charging fees but delivering no real academic value. As complaints grow, authorities and institutions are urged to better educate researchers on verifying conference legitimacy and to crack down on fraudulent academic services.