Quick Answer
The answer is whaling, because this attack specifically targets a high-profile individual—the CEO—to manipulate another employee into a financial action. Unlike generic phishing, whaling focuses on C-level executives or decision-makers, exploiting their authority and creating urgency to bypass normal security checks. The slight misspelling of the email address is a classic whaling technique, as attackers impersonate senior leadership to deceive subordinates. On the Certified Ethical Hacker CEH exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish whaling from spear phishing: spear phishing targets any specific individual, while whaling is reserved for top-tier executives or those with financial authority. A common trap is confusing the two, but remember that whaling always involves a “big fish” like a CEO or CFO. For a memory tip, think of the “W” in whaling as standing for “Whale” and “Wealthy” targets—high-value, high-authority roles that attackers aim to impersonate or exploit.
This CEH practice question tests your understanding of social engineering and physical security. 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.
An employee receives an email that appears to be from the CEO, asking the employee to urgently wire funds to a vendor. The email address is slightly misspelled. What type of social engineering attack is this?
Pharming
Why wrong: Pharming redirects users to fraudulent websites.
Spear phishing
Why wrong: Spear phishing targets a specific person, but does not necessarily impersonate a high-level executive.
Whaling
Whaling targets senior executives or impersonates them.
Vishing
Why wrong: Vishing uses phone calls, not email.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Whaling
This is a whaling attack because it specifically targets a high-profile individual (the CEO) to deceive another employee into performing a financial action. The slight misspelling of the email address is a classic whaling technique, as the attacker impersonates a senior executive to exploit authority and urgency. Unlike generic phishing, whaling focuses on C-level executives or decision-makers.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Pharming
Why it's wrong here
Pharming redirects users to fraudulent websites.
Spear phishing
Why it's wrong here
Spear phishing targets a specific person, but does not necessarily impersonate a high-level executive.
Whaling
Why this is correct
Whaling targets senior executives or impersonates them.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Vishing
Why it's wrong here
Vishing uses phone calls, not email.
Common exam traps
EC-Council often tests the distinction between spear phishing and whaling by emphasizing that whaling specifically targets senior executives, while spear phishing can target any individual or role within an organization.
Detailed technical explanation
Whaling often leverages social engineering to bypass technical controls like email filters by using lookalike domains (e.g., ceo@cornpany.com instead of ceo@company.com) or spoofed display names. Attackers may also research the target's organizational hierarchy and communication patterns to craft a believable request, exploiting the trust placed in executive authority. In real-world scenarios, such attacks have led to significant financial losses, as employees are conditioned to obey urgent requests from leadership without verification.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Social Engineering and Physical Security — This question tests Social Engineering and Physical Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Whaling — This is a whaling attack because it specifically targets a high-profile individual (the CEO) to deceive another employee into performing a financial action. The slight misspelling of the email address is a classic whaling technique, as the attacker impersonates a senior executive to exploit authority and urgency. Unlike generic phishing, whaling focuses on C-level executives or decision-makers.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This CEH practice question is part of Courseiva's free EC-Council 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 CEH exam.
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