posted June 01, 2006 04:04 PM         

>
> 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 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
>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 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. 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*****
>
> Please send this to as many people as you can to teach them not to
>give any information about them selves. This world we live in today is
>too dangerous to even give out your age, let alone anything else.
>
> EVEN FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WITHOUT KIDS SO THEY CAN SEND IT TO
>FRIENDS THAT DO HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN

posted June 01, 2006 05:21 PM         

Has anyone been watching the dateline's about online sexual predators. I watched a couple and caught last nights episode ... so sad and scary to think about it - yet see it happening (set up by dateline of course)

Kids have to be taught the importance of secrecy ... to never give out personal information. You know when i was young and people come to the door selling stuff, they would ask for my parents ... i would yell as if i was yelling for my parents, .... i'd wait and of course get no response but i would tell the person then that my parents are unavailable at the moment. It made that person think someone else was there with me and i wasnt alone. Same thing with phone calls. I would yell for my parents and then tell them they are unable to come to the phone right now.

the internet makes things that much easier today... but children are so innoccent they dont think about the info they are giving out as something that could be used to find them or track them down.

A Good one to pass on ... thanks lioneye for the post!!

posted June 01, 2006 05:45 PM         

snopes

quote:

---

Though the preceding tale is related on a number of web sites as a true story, it's not. Written by two Christians concerned about the danger unwittingly presented by young people giving out too much personal information online, this cautionary tale first surfaced on the Internet in January 1998.

The authors very clearly stated the Shannon story was not true, but that part of the e-mail was seemingly lost in the first volley of forwards. Perhaps people were so enthralled with story itself they forgot to include the rest of the information given by the authors, which included their reasons for writing the parable and an 8-point list of good suggestions kids would do well to adhere to in the world of cyberspace:

---