# A dead website's name. Someone else's business behind it.

ID: SA-074
Type: Documented incident
Audience / at-risk group: Bloggers, librarians, Wikipedia editors and anyone who maintains old web pages with links
Subject: en-html.org
Sources checked: 2026-10-14

## Lesson
A request to update an old link is not proof that it comes from the original owner. Check the new address before changing anything. If the original site is gone, link to an archive.org copy instead of a "mirror" offered by a stranger.

## Source findings
Russell Coker documented the emails and the en-html.org mirrors on his blog on 9 October 2026 and recommends replacing such links with archive.org copies. The redirects to hotel websites were observed by the Digital Fraud Observatory on 14 October 2026.

## Limits
The aim of building search ranking from old links is the source's inference; it is not confirmed by the operator. This case does not show that anyone lost money or that the hotel sites commissioned the scheme. The redirects can change at any time; they are described as they stood on 14 October 2026.

## Sources
- [Russell Coker's blog (etbe)](https://etbe.coker.com.au/2026/10/09/en-html-org-scam-site/) — Original report of the emails and the en-html.org mirrors · 9 October 2026
- [ICANN Registration Data Lookup](https://lookup.icann.org/en/lookup?name=en-html.org) — Public registration record (registered through Spaceship, Inc.).

Original editorial text: CC BY 4.0. Third-party captures, source texts, names and logos retain their own rights.