stumpy4700

MYSPACE or Facebook: A Must Read for All

EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS
and
HAVE 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.

GoTo1 23:
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 was 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 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."

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

If anyone wants the orginal e-mail to send to others just pm me and I can e-mail it to you.