Are you safe?
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.
EVEN FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WITHOUT KIDS SO THEY CAN SEND IT TO FRIENDS