A user clicked a link in an e-mail that appeared to be from his bank. The link led him to a page that requested he charge his password to access his bank account. What is this an example of?

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This scenario is an example of phishing. Phishing is a malicious attempt to trick individuals into providing sensitive information, such as login credentials, by pretending to be a trustworthy entity—in this case, the user's bank.

When the user clicked the link in the email, they were led to a fraudulent webpage that resembled the bank's official website. This tactic exploits social engineering techniques to create a sense of urgency or fear, prompting users to enter their information without realizing they are interacting with a harmful source.

In contrast, impersonation refers to someone pretending to be another person but does not specifically involve the act of gathering sensitive data through fake electronic communications. Dumpster diving involves searching through trash to find confidential information, and shoulder surfing is the act of observing someone entering sensitive data, such as passwords, in real-time. Each of these terms represents a different type of security threat, with phishing being specifically focused on fraudulent online deception to harvest personal information.

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