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COULD THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR CHILD?
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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.
There she could talk to strangers without being afraid.
After all, none knew who she really was and couldn't hurt
her.
She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213.
Checking her Buddy List she 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
cause 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: Do you pitch or what?
ByAngel213: No I play second base. Igot 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
GoTo123 decided it was time to teach Angel a lesson.
One she would never forget.
He 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,
she had just told him.
He knew she stayed by herself
until 6:30 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 online.
He had enough information to find her now.
"She'll be so surprised," he thought, "she doesn't even know
what she has done."
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 over-protective.
By Thursday Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.
Hergame 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 back of the
shirt. He knew he had found her.
Quietly he walked a safe distance
behind her.
He didn't want to frighten her and have to explain
what he was doing to anyone.
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 is a police-officer and he 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 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 online 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 online.
Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you
without even realizing what you have done. Promise me you 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.
*Author unknown-This particular "story" might not have happened BUT similar situations have. I only use this "story" to point out how easily a person,(child or adult) can be "fooled". We should all use caution while on the internet*
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Most of us as parents do everything possible to protect our children from harm don't we? We teach our children lots of safety rules like: NEVER talk to strangers, NEVER go with a stranger, NEVER give their name out to the person on the other end of the phone, NEVER tell the person on the other end of the phone that their home alone, and etc.
BUT what about when our children are on-line? Hummm.......but they can't get kidnapped while on-line, or murdered while on-line, or sexual assaulted while on-line now can they? The answer is NO to all of the above, no one can reach through the computer screen and kidnap, murder, or assault our children, BUT if we don't teach our children the same safety rules to follow while on-line then it becomes possible for potential predatures to track our children down by the information that they volunteerly give out to "strangers" while chatting on-line! (or by what they put in their on-line profiles)
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