Renate69

This is really important!
*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: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating & 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
Jr. 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 d idn't want
them to make a scene & stop her from walking home from the
softball games. Parents were always overreacting & hers were
the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe
if she had brothers & 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 & he
smiled when she looked at him. He d idn'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 & 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, & 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 &
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! **GoTo123**
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 & 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 & 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.
*****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