Predatory publishers and journals exploit academic authors by charging publication fees without providing proper editorial and quality review services. They prioritize profits over quality. Characteristics include lack of peer review, editorial boards, and transparency about fees and operations. Jeffrey Beall created criteria to help identify predatory journals, and Cabell's Blacklist now catalogs over 4,000 questionable journals. Savitribai Phule Pune University developed a software tool to help researchers identify predatory publications. Several journal selection tools can also help match articles to legitimate journals.