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 safely."
She saw the porch light 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
online. There she could talk to strangers without being afraid.
After all, none knew who she really was and couldn't hurt her. She logged on
under her screen name ByAngel213. Checking her Buddy List she 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 cause
I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out online 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 cute.
GoTo123: Do you pitch or what?
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
GoTo123 decided it was time to teach Angel a lesson. One she would never
forget. He 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. She had just told
him. He also knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 every afternoon
until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on
Thursday afternoons on the school team and had just learned that the team was
named the Canton Cats and even what the uniforms looked like. He even knew
her position. And her favourite 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 online over time, with
his simply showing interest of a typical person chatting with her. He had
enough information to find her now. "She'll be so surprised," he
thought. "She doesn't even know what she has done."
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 behind 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 back of the shirt. He knew he had found
her. Quietly he walked a safe distance behind her. He didn't want to
frighten her and have to explain what he was doing to anyone. 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 is a policeman and he 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 your on line 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 online 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 today
to find you and teach you how dangerous it is to give out too much information
to people on line.
You've 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 online. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a
little here and there online. 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!"
Contributed by: Mark and several others over time.