ISC2 CC Security Operations Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are common indicators of a phishing email?
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
✓
Unexpected sender or email address
Unexpected sender and urgent language are classic phishing indicators. File attachments can be malicious, but presence alone is not always phishing; legitimate emails have attachments too. The other options are not typical phishing indicators.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Professional formatting with correct grammar
Why it's wrong here
Professional formatting is not an indicator of phishing.
- ✗
Presence of a file attachment
Why it's wrong here
Attachments are common in legitimate emails too.
- ✗
Use of the recipient's full name in the greeting
Why it's wrong here
Many legitimate emails use the recipient's name.
- ✓
Unexpected sender or email address
Why this is correct
Phishing often uses spoofed or unexpected addresses.
- ✓
Urgent language requesting immediate action
Why this is correct
Urgency is a common tactic to bypass critical thinking.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CC question is part of Courseiva's 976-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam 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 CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.