Internet Safety

[brightblessings5]

A friend sent me this in an e-mail.

 

Not sure if this is the right forum for it, but wanted to share...

 

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 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 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: 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 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.

 

 

 

Shannon 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

 

were 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

 

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 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 sat back. 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 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."

 

 

 

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. 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

 

thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic

 

situation.