Which method is often employed by attackers to carry out vishing attacks?

Vishing, a term that combines "voice" and "phishing," specifically refers to the act of using phone calls to deceive individuals into providing sensitive information. Attackers often impersonate legitimate businesses during these calls, creating a sense of urgency or trust to manipulate the victim into revealing confidential data, such as bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, or passwords. This method leverages the personal touch of voice communication, which can make the deception more convincing compared to written forms of phishing, like emails or text messages.

In this context, the other methods mentioned—such as email phishing, SMS messages with malicious links, and malicious software downloads—are forms of phishing or cyber attacks but do not fall under the specific definition of vishing, which focuses on voice communication through phone calls. Thus, the approach of using impersonation in phone calls clearly aligns with the characteristics of vishing attacks.