The correct answer is phishing. This attack succeeds by impersonating a trusted entity—in this case, a bank—to trick the recipient into clicking a suspicious link that leads to a fraudulent domain, where credentials or account details are harvested. On the CompTIA A+ Core 2 220-1202 exam, this scenario tests your ability to identify social engineering tactics, specifically the mismatch between a seemingly legitimate sender address and the actual link destination. A common trap is focusing only on the email’s appearance rather than inspecting the underlying URL, which is the definitive red flag. To remember this, think of the “hook” in phishing: the urgent language about suspicious activity is the bait, and the deceptive link is the hook that reels you in. Always hover over links before clicking to verify the true domain.
220-1102 Logical Security Concepts Practice Question
This 220-1202 practice question tests your understanding of logical security concepts. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A user receives an email that appears to be from their bank, asking them to click a link and verify their account information due to 'suspicious activity.' The email address looks legitimate, but the link points to a different domain. What type of attack is this?
Why wrong: Spear phishing is targeted at a specific individual or organization, but the scenario does not indicate that the email is personalized; it appears to be a generic mass email.
B
Phishing
Phishing is a broad term for fraudulent emails attempting to obtain sensitive data by posing as a legitimate entity, matching the scenario exactly.
C
Whaling
Why wrong: Whaling targets high-profile individuals like executives. The scenario does not specify the user's role, so it is not necessarily whaling.
D
Vishing
Why wrong: Vishing is voice phishing conducted over the phone, not via email.
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 where attackers impersonate a trusted entity to trick victims into revealing sensitive information. The suspicious link is a key indicator. This question tests the ability to recognize phishing attempts based on common characteristics like urgent language and deceptive links.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Spear phishing
Why it's wrong here
Spear phishing is targeted at a specific individual or organization, but the scenario does not indicate that the email is personalized; it appears to be a generic mass email.
✓
Phishing
Why this is correct
Phishing is a broad term for fraudulent emails attempting to obtain sensitive data by posing as a legitimate entity, matching the scenario exactly.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
Whaling
Why it's wrong here
Whaling targets high-profile individuals like executives. The scenario does not specify the user's role, so it is not necessarily whaling.
✗
Vishing
Why it's wrong here
Vishing is voice phishing conducted over the phone, not via email.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Spear phishing is targeted at a specific individual or organization, but the scenario does not indicate that the email is personalized; it appears to be a generic mass email.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this 220-1202 question in full detail.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related 220-1202 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Logical Security Concepts — This question tests Logical Security Concepts — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Phishing — Phishing is a social engineering attack where attackers impersonate a trusted entity to trick victims into revealing sensitive information. The suspicious link is a key indicator. This question tests the ability to recognize phishing attempts based on common characteristics like urgent language and deceptive links.
What should I do if I get this 220-1202 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related 220-1202 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A user receives an email from what appears to be their bank, asking them to click a link and verify their account due to suspicious activity. The email contains several spelling errors and the link points to an unfamiliar domain. What type of attack is this?
medium
A.Spear phishing
✓ B.Phishing
C.Whaling
D.Vishing
Why B: Phishing attacks use deceptive emails to trick users into revealing sensitive information. The suspicious link and errors indicate a phishing attempt, not a legitimate bank communication.
Last reviewed: Jun 19, 2026
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This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 220-1202 exam.
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