Question

Sarah received an email that claimed to be from her bank's manager. the email asked her reset her password going to a site listed in the email. the email also mentioned sarah's visit to the bank manager last week, so it appeared legitimate. sarah later found out that the email was not from her bank and that she had given her current password to a hacker's site. five thousand dollars got transferred from her bank account. this is an example of a____

a. phishing
b. attack trojan horse spear
d. phishing attack
e. identity theft

Answer 1

The correct answer is option D. Spear Phishing Attack. Sarah experienced a Spear Phishing Attack, where personal details were used to make a fake email seem legitimate, leading to identity theft.

Step-by-step explanation:

Individuals should be educated on how to identify phishing attempts and use stronger security measures like two-factor authentication to protect themselves.

This type of attack is a more targeted attempt to steal sensitive information through emails that seem legitimate, often referencing personal details to appear credible, as seen in Sarah's case. Sarah's experience demonstrates the effectiveness of such attacks, which rely on personalization to lower the victim's guard; in this case, mentioning a visit to the bank manager. Identity theft is a common consequence of spear phishing attacks when hackers use the gleaned information to perform unauthorized transactions or open new accounts.

To safeguard against spear phishing and other forms of cyberattacks, individuals should be educated about the signs of phishing emails and adopt stronger security measures like two-factor authentication. It is critical to be wary of unsolicited requests for personal information and to always verify the sender's identity through official channels before taking any action prompted by an email.