Security Review

Is windmilltapes.co.uk legit or a scam?

Our verdict:Dangerous· 1/100

Established UK tape and label manufacturer with 40+ years of trading history, valid company registration, and BRC/IoP Grade AA accreditation.

windmilltapes.co.ukScanned 3h ago
0
Trust score
DANGEROUS
Heuristics 0·MT 82
Category tags
business & commerce95% MT confidence
Warning signals (1)

These checks passed — but they don't clear the site. A clean antivirus result, valid SSL, and a calm server only mean it isn't hosting malware; they say nothing about whether the business is real. This verdict is based on the site's conduct and content, not a malware detection.

View density

Analysis Summary

Threat Intelligence
2/92
Engines flagged this URL
Domain Age
27 years old
Registered Oct 19, 1999
MT Intelligence
Suspicious
Low likelihood · 95% confidence
DANGEROUS

Critical risk detected

Flagged on major browser safety blocklists as social engineering. Multiple independent checks — antivirus engines, browser safety blocklists, and threat databases — flagged this site. Don't enter personal information, deposit money, or download files.

Website Preview

Screenshot of windmilltapes.co.uk
LIVE RENDER
windmilltapes.co.uk

Automated page render — captured in a safe sandbox. What an ordinary visitor would see when loading the site.

MT Intelligence

Advanced threat intelligence
MT Security Analyst
Low scam likelihoodengineMT · Guardiantrust82/100
MT AgentLive web researchVisual inspection
0%
Confidence
Windmill Tapes & Labels operates as a genuine UK manufacturing business. The company is registered at Companies House (01728073) with incorporation dating to 1 June 1983, matching the stated founding year of 1980 and the domain age of 9,737 days. Our research confirmed active company filings, BRC/IoP Grade AA accreditation (the highest certification level), and legitimate industry presence including LinkedIn, Facebook, and equipment investments documented in sector reports. The two antivirus engine flags (Fortinet and a browser blocklist) appear to be false positives triggered by the site's phishing-detection heuristics, likely because the page lacks typical contact details or uses generic hosting infrastructure. The hosting IP has zero abuse reports and a clean reputation score. No scam reports, complaints, or negative reviews exist across consumer-complaint databases or general web sources.
Full dossier
Analysis complete

Page Content

The site presents as a manufacturer's landing page with navigation to tape and label product categories. The page title and meta description accurately reflect the business (UK tape and label manufacturer since 1980). No login forms, countdown timers, or push-notification spam detected. Google Tag Manager is loaded for analytics, a standard practice for legitimate businesses.

Infrastructure

SSL certificate is valid (Let's Encrypt, 53 days to expiry). Hosting IP 178.79.181.104 has zero abuse reports and a clean reputation score of 0/100. The domain uses privacy-protected WHOIS registration through Pipe Ten Hosting Ltd, a common practice for small businesses.

Domain History

Domain age is 9,737 days (~26.7 years), consistent with a business established in 1983. The .co.uk extension is the standard UK business domain. No homoglyph or IDN spoofing detected.

Web Reputation

Companies House records confirm WINDMILL TAPES LIMITED (01728073) as an active UK company with registered office in Stockport, Cheshire. Latest accounts filed to 30 November 2024 and confirmation statement due July 2025. The company holds BRC/IoP Grade AA accreditation (highest level, renewed multiple years with zero exclusions). Industry presence documented via LinkedIn, Facebook, equipment investments (HP Indigo press, AB Graphic Digicon), and sector reports. Zero scam reports, complaints, or negative reviews found across web sources.

Risk Factors
3
  • Two antivirus engines flagged the page as phishing, likely a false positive due to minimal contact information on the landing page.
  • No direct contact email or postal address visible on the landing page itself (though company registration provides verified office address).
  • Page is not indexed in global traffic rankings, typical for a small B2B manufacturer with limited consumer-facing traffic.
Positive Signals
5
  • Registered UK company (01728073) active since 1 June 1983 with up-to-date Companies House filings.
  • BRC/IoP Grade AA accreditation (highest certification level) renewed multiple years with zero exclusions.
  • Domain age of 9,737 days aligns with company history; no recent registration or domain hijacking.
  • Hosting IP has zero abuse reports and clean reputation; SSL certificate valid.
  • Legitimate industry presence: LinkedIn company page, Facebook, documented equipment investments, and sector report participation.
AI Recommendation
This is a legitimate UK manufacturer. The antivirus flags appear to be false positives. You can safely visit the site and contact the business using the verified company registration details (Unit C Mackenzie Industrial Estate, Bird Hall Lane, Stockport, Cheshire, SK3 0SB) if you need to verify their identity independently.
Next-gen fraud intelligence
Evidence-backedCross-checked

Web Research Findings

Our live research agent queries scam-report databases, consumer-review sites, news coverage, and general web search for windmilltapes.co.uk, then cross-checks business-registration records and look-alike domain patterns. Everything below is pulled from what it actually found.

Domain age
26 yrs
Registered Oct 1999
Business registration
Active · United Kingdom
Site traces back to an actively registered business.
Clone check
Not a clone
No well-known site's layout or branding detected here.
Typosquat check
No look-alike match
The domain doesn't resemble any well-known brand's spelling.
Web mentions
1 positive
Key findings
7 headline facts from open-web research
  • Domain windmilltapes.co.uk matches the official website of Windmill Tapes & Labels, a UK manufacturer of printed tapes and labels established in 1980.
  • Registered UK company WINDMILL TAPES LIMITED (01728073) active since 1 June 1983, with registered office in Stockport, Cheshire.
  • Company maintains BRC/IoP Grade AA accreditation (highest level, renewed multiple years with zero exclusions).
  • Business has industry presence: LinkedIn company page, Facebook, news mentions of equipment investments (HP Indigo press, AB Graphic Digicon), and participation in packaging/printing sector reports.
  • No scam reports, fraud complaints, negative reviews, or consumer warnings found across web searches including Reddit, Trustpilot, ScamAdviser, or general complaint terms.
  • Domain age of 9737 days (~26.7 years) aligns with company history since 1983.
  • Positive industry signals: supplier listings, patent references to their products, local council expenditures recorded, and customer-facing certifications.
Business registration
Status: active · United Kingdom

WINDMILL TAPES LIMITED (company no. 01728073), incorporated 1 June 1983, registered at Unit C Mackenzie Industrial Estate, Bird Hall Lane, Stockport, Cheshire, SK3 0SB. SIC 32990. Latest accounts to 30 Nov 2024; confirmation statement July 2025. Active with up-to-date filings.

Research summary
Narrative write-up from our AI analyst, grounded on the facts above

We searched scam-report databases, consumer-review sites, and general web sources for windmilltapes.co.uk and found no scam reports, complaints, or negative reviews. Companies House records confirm WINDMILL TAPES LIMITED (01728073) as an active UK company incorporated 1 June 1983, with registered office in Stockport, Cheshire. The company maintains BRC/IoP Grade AA accreditation (highest level, renewed multiple years with zero exclusions) and has documented industry presence including LinkedIn, Facebook, equipment investments, and sector report participation. Domain age of 9,737 days (~26.7 years) aligns with the company's established history.

Antivirus Engines

Detection matrix · live
2 engines flagged this URL

We cross-check every URL against our antivirus network of 92 malware and blacklist engines. Each detection is listed below by engine name — even a single hit is a meaningful signal.

2Malicious0Suspicious55Harmless92Engines
0
of 92
Fortinet
Malicious· phishing
Google Safebrowsing
Malicious· phishing

2 antivirus engines flagged this URL. Even a single detection is a meaningful signal — treat this site with extra caution and avoid entering credentials, payment info, or downloading any files.

Security Scans

Blacklist Check
This URL appears on threat lists

Detected threat categories: SOCIAL_ENGINEERING.

Contact Verification

We fetched the page and looked for real-world contact details. Legitimate businesses almost always publish an email on their own domain, a phone number, and a postal address. Scam shops usually don't.

What We Found
No clear contact details on the page
Emails on site's domainNone
Phone numbers2021-08-12
Postal addressNot listed
Linked social profiles0
Signal Summary
Several contact red flags
  • No contact email found anywhere on the page.
  • No postal address visible on the page.
  • Phone number listed (2021-08-12).

Domain & Encryption

Domain History
Age27 years old
RegistrarPipe Ten Hosting Ltd t/a purely.website
RegisteredOct 19, 1999
ExpiresOct 19, 2026
Owner privacyHidden
Encryption Certificate
StatusValid
ProtocolTLSv1.3
IssuerLet's Encrypt · R12
ExpiresAug 10, 2026 (53d)
Self-signedNo
Hosting & Technology
HostingLinode, LLC
Server locationGB
Web servernginx
Platform / CMSWordPress

Redirect Chain

Hops
1
Cross-domain
Yes
Lookalike
No
Punycode
No
  • 1301http://windmilltapes.co.uk/
  • 2200https://www.windmilltapes.co.uk/cross-domain

Server Reputation

Abuse Intelligence
Confidence score0%
Reports on file0
ISPLinode, LLC
Usage typeData Center/Web Hosting/Transit

Avoid this site

Our automated review flagged enough risk that you should treat this site as unverified.

  • Do not interact with windmilltapes.co.uk

    Do not enter credentials, deposit money, download files, or install browser extensions from this site.

  • Verify the business through independent channels

    Check the company's social profiles, registry records, and search for recent news or reviews that are not hosted on the site itself.

  • Never use irreversible payment methods

    Crypto, gift cards, wire transfers, and cash apps offer zero buyer protection. Use a credit card or PayPal if you must pay.

  • Share your experience

    If you have additional context, drop a comment below or post on the MalwareTips forum.

    Open

Reputation Sources

How this domain rates across independent threat-intelligence and blocklist providers.

Google Safe Browsing
ListedCheck ↗
VirusTotal
ListedCheck ↗
AbuseIPDB
Not listedCheck ↗

Referenced Domains

Outbound domains this page links to or loads resources from. Each links to its own security scan.

Safety FAQ

Common questions about this site, answered directly from the scan data above — so the answers always reflect the latest verdict on this page.

  • Our automated security review flags windmilltapes.co.uk as dangerous. Multiple threat indicators were detected — treat the site as a scam until proven otherwise.
  • No — windmilltapes.co.uk scored 1/100 on our trust scale. We detected active threat indicators, so we recommend avoiding the site entirely.
  • Yes. windmilltapes.co.uk presents a valid TLSv1.3 certificate issued by Let's Encrypt · R12, expiring in 53 days. Note that SSL only encrypts the connection — it does not guarantee that the site itself is trustworthy.
  • windmilltapes.co.uk is 26.7 years old, registered on 10/19/1999 through Pipe Ten Hosting Ltd t/a purely.website. Scam domains are often freshly registered — a site under 6 months old warrants extra caution.
  • 2 out of 92 antivirus engines in our malware network flagged windmilltapes.co.uk as malicious or suspicious (2 outright malicious). Even one detection is a meaningful signal.
  • Yes. The major browser blocklist feeds flagged windmilltapes.co.uk with the following threat categories: SOCIAL_ENGINEERING. This protects billions of browser users from visiting the site.
  • windmilltapes.co.uk resolves to an IP operated by Linode, LLC in GB (usage type: Data Center/Web Hosting/Transit). Hosting location alone doesn't make a site good or bad, but unusual geography for a brand's claimed country is one of many signals we weigh.
  • This is a permanent record of the scan run on June 17, 2026. The verdict and evidence above reflect that scan and do not change on their own. If circumstances around windmilltapes.co.uk have changed, MalwareTips staff can run a fresh scan, which re-runs every check from scratch and publishes an updated report.

Final Verdict

0
Trust / 100
Final Verdict·windmilltapes.co.uk
DANGEROUS

Windmill Tapes & Labels is a legitimate UK manufacturer of printed tapes and labels, registered as an active company since 1983 with verified business credentials and industry accreditation.

This is a legitimate UK manufacturer. The antivirus flags appear to be false positives. You can safely visit the site and contact the business using the verified company registration details (Unit C Mackenzie Industrial Estate, Bird Hall Lane, Stockport, Cheshire, SK3 0SB) if you need to verify their identity independently.

AV engines
92
MT passes
2
Net signals
0
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This report is generated automatically by combining threat intelligence, domain signals, and an AI security analyst. It is informational, not legal advice. Always use your own judgement before sharing personal information or money online.