Do You Know Where Your Kids Are Online?
Knowledge is Power
The story you are going to read really happened!
Shannon could hear the footsteps behind her as she walked toward home. The thought of being followed made her heart beat faster."You're 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 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 go online. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213.
She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:
Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was weird!
GoTo123 replied: LOL. You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
ByAngel213 typed: Of course, I do. LOL. I guess it was my imagination because I didn't see anybody when I looked.
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 gross! They look like bees.
GoTo123: What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are cool.
GoTo123: Did you pitch?
ByAngel213: No, I play second base. I got to go. I have to do my homework 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, 2004
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 seventh grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him all this in the conversations they had online. 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 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 saw 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 said."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 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 to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to give out too much information to people online. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. Your name, the school you go to, the name of your ball team and the position you play. The number and name on your jersey 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.
The police officer said: "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 a little 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. And tell others about this so that they will be safe too."
"It's a promise!" exclaimed Shannon.
Shannon kept her promise and never gave out information about herself online again. Other kids are not so lucky because they don't know about the dangers of child predators who lurk online looking for a child or young teenager.
Let's all work together to keep kids safe.
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