What kind of attack is an email from your bank claiming your account is locked and urging you to log in? Learn how phishing emails impersonate legitimate organizations to steal sensitive information—essential for the Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity 100-160 exam.
Table of Contents
Question
A user reports receiving an email from their bank stating that their account has been locked and requesting immediate login to restore access. What type of attack is this?
A. Whaling
B. Phishing
C. Ransomware
D. Social engineering
E. Spoofing
Answer
B. Phishing
Explanation
Phishing attacks attempt to trick users into providing sensitive information by impersonating legitimate entities.
The described scenario is a phishing attack.
Phishing attacks use deceptive emails that impersonate trusted organizations, such as banks, to trick recipients into providing sensitive information like usernames, passwords, or financial details.
These emails often create a sense of urgency or fear, for example, by claiming that an account has been locked or compromised and requiring immediate action to restore access.
Attackers include links to fraudulent websites that closely mimic legitimate bank login pages. When users enter their credentials, the information is captured by the attacker for malicious use.
Common signs of phishing include urgent language, requests for confidential information, suspicious links, and sender addresses that do not match official domains.
This technique is a widespread and effective social engineering method used to commit identity theft, financial fraud, and further cyberattacks.
Phishing attacks impersonate legitimate entities, such as banks, to lure users into revealing sensitive information by exploiting urgency and fear through deceptive emails and fake websites.
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