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200-201 · Question #284

What is a description of "phishing" as a social engineering attack?

The correct answer is B. A hacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant. Phishing is a social engineering attack where an attacker impersonates a trusted entity to trick a victim into compromising security, typically through digital communication.

Submitted by layla.eg· Mar 6, 2026Security Concepts

Question

What is a description of "phishing" as a social engineering attack?

Options

  • AFake Social Security Administration personnel contact random individuals, inform them that there
  • BA hacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant
  • CThe attacker focuses on creating a good pretext, or a fabricated scenario, that is used to try and
  • DSomeone without the proper authentication follows an authenticated employee into a restricted

How the community answered

(61 responses)
  • A
    3% (2)
  • B
    90% (55)
  • C
    2% (1)
  • D
    5% (3)

Why each option

Phishing is a social engineering attack where an attacker impersonates a trusted entity to trick a victim into compromising security, typically through digital communication.

AFake Social Security Administration personnel contact random individuals, inform them that there

This describes a general scam or possibly vishing (voice phishing) if done over the phone, but lacks the specific digital communication method and impersonation characteristic of phishing.

BA hacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instantCorrect

Phishing specifically involves a malicious actor, or hacker, masquerading as a reputable source to deceive an individual into revealing sensitive information or executing actions, commonly via email or instant messages.

CThe attacker focuses on creating a good pretext, or a fabricated scenario, that is used to try and

This describes pretexting, a social engineering technique focused on creating a believable fabricated scenario to manipulate a victim, which is distinct from the primary definition of phishing.

DSomeone without the proper authentication follows an authenticated employee into a restricted

This describes tailgating or piggybacking, a physical social engineering attack where an unauthorized person follows an authorized one into a restricted area, not phishing.

Concept tested: Phishing definition, social engineering attacks

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/information-protection/phishing-scams

Topics

#Phishing#Social engineering#Email security#Attack types

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