OT: FOOTSTEPS Online (PLEASE READ) especially PARENTS...

[Guest guest]

PLEASE READ THIS IT'S A BIT OF A READ BUT ITS WORTH IT PASS IT ON TO

ALL OF YOU'RE MATES WITH OR WITHOUT KIDS. IT'S A PRETTY SCARY THOUGHT

WITH ALL THE UP COMING TECHNOLOGY

Footsteps Online ...

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 online. 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 online. 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've 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 PM 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 online. 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 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 '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 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 and to teach you how dangerous it

is to give out too much information to people online. 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 online. 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 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.