Spiderman
Debutant
I found this at another group and felt the need to share it with anyone with or without kids.
I thought this story would be really important to share. It's also very good for teenagers!
So please read and remember.... it's very easy to be tricked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: Shannon
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 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 were 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 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 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"
"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 themselves. 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.
I just wanted to pass this story around, you just never know kids can
be gullible and we as parents should protect them in every possible
way.
Remember it's not only children and teens that get fooled and preyed
upon!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be careful Online...you never know who's on the other line of your converstion, or your kids.
S
I thought this story would be really important to share. It's also very good for teenagers!
So please read and remember.... it's very easy to be tricked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject: Shannon
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 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 were 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 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 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"
"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 themselves. 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.
I just wanted to pass this story around, you just never know kids can
be gullible and we as parents should protect them in every possible
way.
Remember it's not only children and teens that get fooled and preyed
upon!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be careful Online...you never know who's on the other line of your converstion, or your kids.
S
