A Very Important Story

[Guest guest]

Share this important story with your friends and family who have children who go on-line. There are sick folks out there. 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 ran the rest of the way to her house. Once inside, 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. LOLGoTo123: What is your team called?ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really kewl.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. ByeGoTo123: Catch you later.. ByeMeanwhile......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: ShannonBirthday: Jan. 3, 1985Age:13State where she lived: North CarolinaHobbies:

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

seventh 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

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, 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 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

moved cautiously to a chair across from the man. 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 give out too much

information to people on-line. 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."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.""I won't," Shannon promised solemnly."Will you 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 prayed. They thanked God for protecting Shannon from what

could have been a tragic situation.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.Be safe.

 

PLEASE PASS THIS ON! Visit : Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/ (for non-Sai members)