Bob received this text message on his mobile phone: "Hello, this is Scott Smelby from the Yahoo Bank. Kindly contact me for a vital transaction on: [email protected]". Which statement below is tru

Legitimate financial institutions use verified corporate email domains for customer communications, never free consumer email services that anyone can register. The sender using @yahoo.com to claim affiliation with 'Yahoo Bank' is a classic phishing indicator where attackers exploit brand name similarity to create false legitimacy. This technique is a form of social engineering designed to deceive victims into believing an unsolicited contact is from a trusted organization.

Not personally knowing the sender is insufficient evidence of fraud on its own, as legitimate businesses regularly contact new prospective employees; the technical red flag is the use of an illegitimate free email domain.

Contacting the provided email address would engage directly with the attacker, potentially confirming the victim's identity and exposing Bob to further phishing attempts or social engineering.

Using a free consumer @yahoo.com address rather than an official verified corporate domain is direct evidence against legitimacy, regardless of the organization name invoked in the message.