200-201 Security Concepts Practice Question
A user receives an email that appears to be from their bank, asking them to click a link and verify their account details. The email contains a sense of urgency. Which type of attack is this?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Phishing
Phishing is a social engineering attack that uses deceptive emails to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Pretexting
Why it's wrong here
Pretexting is a social-engineering technique using a fabricated scenario, typically by phone or in person, to extract information through a false identity. It is tempting because the email does invent a bank scenario, but pretexting lacks the mass email lure and malicious link that define phishing.
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Vishing
Why it's wrong here
Vishing is voice phishing conducted over telephone calls, using spoken conversation to manipulate the victim. It is tempting because it also impersonates a trusted organisation, but this attack arrives by email with a clickable link, so no voice channel is involved.
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Spear phishing
Why it's wrong here
Spear phishing targets specific, previously researched individuals or small groups with tailored messages, whereas this email is an untargeted bulk lure impersonating a bank. It is tempting because the message is crafted to look legitimate, but the absence of individual reconnaissance makes it generic phishing.
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Phishing
Why this is correct
The email spoofs a trusted bank, demands urgent verification and harvests credentials via a link, matching phishing's social-engineering mechanism. It satisfies the stem's constraints: forged sender identity, urgency pressure and a credential-capture link, distinguishing it from technical exploits that need no user interaction.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.