Everybody please read (online safety)

[Guest guest]

I THOUGHT THIS WAS TOO IMPORTANT NO TO PASS ON.....TAKE THIS

SERIOUS.....FOR YOUR OWN SAKE..LET ALONE THOSE WHO ARE TOO INNOCENT

TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

Subject: It could save a child's life please read.

IMPORTANT

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.

said a quick prayer, " God please get me home safe. " She saw

the porch light burning and 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 online.

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 cool.

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:

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.

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, 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 thefence 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 '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 's house. He

drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his

move.

was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in

the living room. " ,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. " sat back. How could he

tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!

" Do you know who I am, ? " the man asked. " No, "

answered. " I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123. "

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, , 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. "

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 " " Tell others about this so they will be safe too? "

" It's a promise! "

That night and her dad and Mom all knelt down together and

thanked God for protecting from what could have been a tragic

situation.

*****NOW*****

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.

[Guest guest]

> I THOUGHT THIS WAS TOO IMPORTANT NO TO PASS ON.....TAKE THIS

> SERIOUS.....FOR YOUR OWN SAKE..LET ALONE THOSE WHO ARE TOO INNOCENT

> TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

<snip>

> 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.

Actually, please *don't*.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/parental/shannon.htm

And please check places like snopes.com before you forward these

things.

[Guest guest]

> At the risk of being flamed, I think that while the actual content

> of the 'shannon' email may be false, the *message* that it gives is

> absolutely correct. We NEED to educate our kids, and ourselves

> about online safety. It's a valid concept and well worth discussion

> with any kids we know and love.

It was authored as a cautionary story by a couple of people who never

intended it to be taken as non-fiction. It's a problem when people

forward fictional stories as non-fiction. It was also originally

authored with safety tips at the end that apparently don't make it

through the rounds of the forwards that paint it as non-fiction.

Fiction can be used as a message, but when it's passed off as

non-fiction that is a whole different problem.

[Guest guest]

agreed - fiction should not be passed as non-fiction. Sad those

safety tips didn't make it through. They were vital.

sandi

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