Quick Answer
The answer is whaling. This is correct because whaling is a highly targeted form of spear phishing that specifically impersonates a senior executive, such as a CEO or CFO, to authorize fraudulent wire transfers or access sensitive data. While spear phishing targets any individual with a personalized lure, whaling escalates the stakes by exploiting the authority and trust placed in top leadership, often using a spoofed email address that differs by just one character. On the Certified Ethical Hacker CEH exam, this scenario tests your ability to distinguish between general phishing, spear phishing, and whaling—a common trap is confusing whaling with standard spear phishing, but the key differentiator is the executive-level target and the high-value financial request. For a memory tip, think of the “big fish” in the sea: a whale is the largest target, just as a CEO is the highest-value mark in an organization.
This CEH practice question tests your understanding of malware, social engineering and network attacks. 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 company's CEO, requesting an urgent wire transfer to a vendor. The email address is slightly different from the CEO's actual address. Which type of social engineering attack is this?
Phishing
Why wrong: Phishing is a broader term; whaling is more specific to high-profile targets.
Vishing
Why wrong: Vishing is voice phishing over phone calls.
Whaling
Whaling targets senior executives with personalized attacks.
Spear phishing
Why wrong: Spear phishing targets specific individuals, but whaling targets executives specifically.
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
Whaling is a spear-phishing attack targeting senior executives, often with requests for wire transfers or sensitive information.
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.
Phishing
Why it's wrong here
Phishing is a broader term; whaling is more specific to high-profile targets.
Vishing
Why it's wrong here
Vishing is voice phishing over phone calls.
Whaling
Why this is correct
Whaling targets senior executives with personalized attacks.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Spear phishing
Why it's wrong here
Spear phishing targets specific individuals, but whaling targets executives specifically.
Common exam traps
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the CEH exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which CEH exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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FAQ
Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks — This question tests Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Whaling — Whaling is a spear-phishing attack targeting senior executives, often with requests for wire transfers or sensitive information.
Identify which CEH exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
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. An attacker sends an email that appears to come from the CEO, requesting that the recipient urgently transfer funds to a specified account. Which type of social engineering attack is this?
easyWhy B: Whaling targets high-profile individuals like executives. Spear phishing targets specific individuals, but whaling is specifically aimed at whales (big fish). The email from the CEO targeting an employee would be spear phishing, but the term 'whaling' is used when the target is a high-level executive. However, the email is from the CEO, so the attacker is impersonating a whale. Actually, whaling is when the target is a whale. Here the target is not necessarily a whale. The best answer is 'Spear phishing' because it's targeted. But the question says 'appears to come from the CEO' – that's impersonation. 'Pretexting' involves fabricating a scenario. 'Phishing' is generic. 'Spear phishing' is targeted. I'll go with 'Spear phishing' as the most accurate. I'll correct scenario: An attacker sends an email to a CFO appearing to be from the CEO. That's whaling. Let me adjust the stem to make it clear: 'An attacker sends an email to the company CFO that appears to come from the CEO, requesting an urgent wire transfer. Which type of social engineering attack is this?' Then the answer is 'Whaling'.
Variation 2. A penetration tester receives an email that appears to be from the company's CEO, urgently requesting that the tester click a link to review a document. The email contains several grammatical errors and the sender's address is slightly misspelled. Which type of social engineering attack is this MOST likely?
easyWhy A: Whaling targets high-level executives (like the CEO) with personalized phishing emails. The urgency and impersonation of a CEO are classic whaling indicators.
Variation 3. An employee receives an email that appears to be from the CEO, requesting an urgent wire transfer. The email address is slightly misspelled (e.g., ceo@cornpany.com instead of ceo@company.com). This is an example of which type of attack?
mediumWhy D: Spear phishing targets a specific individual with a tailored message, often impersonating a trusted figure. Whaling targets high-profile individuals but is a subset of spear phishing. Pretexting involves creating a fabricated scenario, but here the impersonation is through email. The attack is spear phishing because it targets a specific employee with a custom lure.
Variation 4. An organization receives an email that appears to be from the CEO, urgently requesting that the recipient wire funds to a new vendor. The email contains the CEO's name and title but the sender address is slightly misspelled. Which type of social engineering attack is this?
mediumWhy B: Whaling targets senior executives (like the CEO) with personalized phishing emails, often involving financial fraud.
Last reviewed: Jun 21, 2026
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