Children and the internet

By coffee

Tue 15 May 2007 10:48

Hi I was on forum4e and I seen this message so I copied it because it is and timely especially for those with older/ teenagers coffee Below is the message:-
Subject: Fw: Children and the internet

> 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 &
> 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 school
> the Canton Jr. 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! GoTo123 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 named 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**
> This world we live in today is too
> dangerous to even give out
> your age, let alone anything else.
I hope that all of you have found this informative. Very scary that this type of thing happens - especailly to some of society's most vulmerable members! This just shows you, you can be too safe. That you must be very careful to whom you give out such personal information! I know that this particular incident happened, in the states, but it very easily could happen over here.