An employee receives a text message that appears to have been sent by the payroll department and is asking for credential verification. Which of the following social engineering techniques are being attempted? (Choose two.)
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Correct answer: Impersonation, Smishing.
Why this is the answer
The employee is experiencing Smishing because the attack is delivered via SMS (text message). This is a form of phishing that specifically targets mobile devices. The attacker is also using Impersonation by pretending to be the payroll department to gain the employee's trust and trick them into revealing sensitive information. Phishing is a broader category of social engineering that includes smishing, but smishing is more specific to the delivery method described. Vishing uses voice calls, not text messages. Typosquatting involves registering domain names similar to legitimate ones to trick users, which isn't happening here. Misinformation is the spread of false information, but in this context, the primary goal is credential theft through deception, not just spreading falsehoods.
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