What is phishing?

What is phishing?

• A. A malware that deletes files
• B. A social-engineering tactic to obtain sensitive information
• C. A legitimate password reset process
• D. A type of data compression

Answer: (B)

Phishing is a social-engineering tactic used to obtain sensitive information by deceiving people into revealing credentials, financial details, or other secure data. Attackers pretend to be a trusted entity—like a bank, tech support, or a coworker—and try to rush you into action via email, text, or phone calls. They lead you to a fake website or prompt you to open an attachment so your information is captured. It’s about manipulating people, not about using malware by itself, and it isn’t a legitimate password-reset process or a data compression technique.

Phishing is a social-engineering tactic used to obtain sensitive information by deceiving people into revealing credentials, financial details, or other secure data. Attackers pretend to be a trusted entity—like a bank, tech support, or a coworker—and try to rush you into action via email, text, or phone calls. They lead you to a fake website or prompt you to open an attachment so your information is captured. It’s about manipulating people, not about using malware by itself, and it isn’t a legitimate password-reset process or a data compression technique.