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Be Careful on the Net
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. 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
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 she 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.
Just a reminder...
Keep yourself safe!
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