It seems no one is safe from identity theft – including science. An imposter posing as a French engineering researcher peer-reviewed three articles for Scientific World Journal before the charade was discovered, according to an article from The Washington Post. The stolen identity reportedly belonged to Xavier Delorme, an industrial engineering professor at the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Étienne, a graduate school in France.
According to the article, the faux Delorme approached the publication with an idea for a special issue and volunteered to edit it. He also provided an authentic-looking email address and curriculum vitae. The ruse came to light when the real Delorme began corresponding with the publication on an unrelated issue, but only after the imposter’s work had already been published.
Read the entire article here.