[il-talk] safety tip for parents and kids

[CONCERNED CITIZENS OF PARATRANSIT]

    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.

   

    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 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 all

    knelt down together and thanked God for protecting

    Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.

   

    *****NOW****

   

    EVEN FORWARD THIS TO

    PEOPLE WITHOUT KIDS SO

    THEY CAN SEND IT TO

    FRIENDS THAT DO HAVE

    CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN