a must read- to protect our kids and grandkids

[Guest guest]

A Must Read

A Must Read for All who have children or grandchildren

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS and HAVE YOUR CHILDREN READ IT TOO!

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

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 eighth 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

ballpark 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 the fence behind first base and he smiled when she

looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden

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 injure 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 talk to people on-line. You told me enough

about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. You named 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 that

do have children or grandchildren.