HERE SOMETHING ALL SHOULD READ,ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE KIDS!
<< Think about it..We could all learn a lesson with this one....Lori
Shannon could hear the footsteps behind her as she walked toward
home.
The thought of being followed made her heart beat faster.
"You're being silly," she told herself, "no one is following you."
To be safe, she began to walk faster, but the footsteps kept up with
her
pace. She was afraid to look back and she was glad she was almost
home.
Shannon said a quick prayer, "God please get me home safe."
She saw the porch light burning and ran the rest of the way to her
house.
Once inside, she leaned against the door for a moment, relieved to be
in
the safety of her home. She glanced out the window to see if anyone was
there. The sidewalk was empty.
After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and
get
on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked
her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant
message:
ByAngel213: Hi I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me
home today. It was really weird!
GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following
you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I
didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that
have you?
ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!
GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross!
They look like bees. LOL
GoTo123: : What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our
uniforms. They are really kewl.
GoTo123: Did you pitch?
ByAngel213:: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be
done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye
GoTo123: Catch you later.. Bye
Meanwhile......
GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile.
When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen
and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.
Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age:13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she
Had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m.
every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played
softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was
named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her
jersey.
He knew she was in the seventh grade at the Canton Junior High School.
She had told him all this in the conversations they had on-line. He had
enough information to find her now.
Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home
from the ball park that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop
her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always
overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an
only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't
be so overprotective.
By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.
Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her.
It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second
base position to see a man watching her closely. He was leaning against
the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He
didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the fear she had felt.
After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach.
She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and
she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he
had found her. Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was
only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he
quickly returned to the park to get his car. Now he had to wait. He
decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's
house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to
make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the
living room. "Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset
and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from
the ballpark sitting on the sofa. "Sit down," her father began, "this man
has just told us a most interesting story about you."
Shannon moved cautiously to a chair across from the man. How could he tell
her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!
"Do you know who I am Shannon?" The man asked. "No", Shannon answered.
"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."
Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14 and
he lives in Michigan!"
The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see
Shannon there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of
them. But while others do it to find kids and hurt them, I belong to a group
of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you
to teach you how dangerous it is to give out too much information to people
on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find
you. Your name, the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the
position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you
a breeze."
Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan?"
He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was
so far away, didn't it?" She nodded. "I had a friend whose daughter was like
you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she
was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet
they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out
information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have
told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it.
I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again."
"I won't," Shannon promised solemnly.
"Will you tell others about this so they will be safe too?"
"It's a promise!" That night Shannon and her dad and Mom all knelt
down together and prayed. They thanked God for protecting Shannon from what
could have been a tragic situation.
Please send this to as many people as you can to teach them not to give any
information about themselves. This world we live in today is too dangerous to
even give out your age, let alone anything else. Be safe.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON!
PSN |
