Fans of Marseille’s vibrant rap scene will already know the title of the latest single by AM La Scampia, but most telecoms professionals may be surprised that French lovers of hip-hop know what IMSI-catchers are. The title was likely influenced by the fact that the French slang for ‘chatter’ also rhymes with the English word ‘catcher’, as used in the following lyric from the song.
Pour les gros tchatcheurs il y a l’IMSI catcher
For big chatters there is the IMSI catcher
However, the prominent reference to IMSI-catchers demonstrates the extent to which these radio comms interception devices have entered the consciousness of the public, at least in France following the arrest of a gang that blasted the mobile phones of Parisians with millions of scam SMS messages transmitted from a car and an old ambulance.
AM La Scampia writes songs that explore themes of alienation, gangland criminality, drug culture and football, interspersed with references to how people communicate in the era of the internet and mobile phones. One line will include the words ‘SIM’, ‘4G’ or ‘Netflix’ whilst the next may mention weed, Glocks or Diego Maradona. Another recurring theme in his songs involves the digits ‘1092’, which TikTok users may recognize as code for ‘I need to talk to you’.
Electronic communications is a global business, but that does not mean that the risk managers who work in this sector speak a consistent language, even though a common approach to terminology is one of the most fundamental prerequisites for effective risk management. There is some amusement in observing that a French rapper of Algerian extraction knows what an IMSI-catcher is, whilst at least some of the professionals reading this article will have occasionally needed to introduce the term by reference to Stingrays, a particular make of IMSI-catcher. Kids who use Discord and TikTok are developing an international language that allows them to communicate more effectively across borders than parochial telco managers who have limited exposure to peers in other countries. This should be a cause for concern when messaging applications like Telegram can be turned into online universities for young men hoping to make money from SIM swaps or smishing.
The official video for “IMSI Catcher” by AM La Scampia can be played below.
