hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
FC0-U71 Practice Question: An employee receives a phone call from someone…
An employee receives a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IT department. The caller states there is a security issue and requests the employee's login credentials to 'fix the problem'. What should the employee do?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often think verifying the caller's identity later (Option D) is sufficient, but the correct procedure is to immediately terminate the call and independently verify using a trusted number, as call-back numbers can be spoofed or part of a coordinated attack.
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
✓
Hang up and call the IT department using the official number.
The employee should never provide credentials in response to an unsolicited request, even if the caller sounds knowledgeable. Hanging up and calling the IT department using the official number ensures the request is verified through a trusted communication channel, preventing a social engineering attack such as phishing or pretexting.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Give a temporary password to see if the issue resolves.
Why it's wrong here
Even temporary credentials can be abused.
- ✗
Provide the credentials because the caller sounds knowledgeable.
Why it's wrong here
Social engineers often sound convincing.
- ✓
Hang up and call the IT department using the official number.
Why this is correct
Verifying through official channels prevents credential theft.
- ✗
Ask for a call-back number and verify the caller's identity later.
Why it's wrong here
The number provided could be fraudulent.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every FC0-U71 question from scratch — 988 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This FC0-U71 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 FC0-U71 exam.