I received this in my email and felt compelled to share it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is not one of your usual around the office jokes, it is a lot more serious and could effect your family, especially if you have one of those kids that loves the internet and chatting to people in chat rooms.
I don't know if anything in it is true, but I do know that it makes a lot of sense once you have read through it.
Subject: Footsteps on line (a MUST read when you have 5 mins)
How spooky and terrible is this!!!
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 as the footsteps kept pace with her she was
afraid to look back and was glad that she was almost home. Shannon said a
quick prayer "God please get me home safe." She saw the veranda light
burning and she leaned against the door she for a moment, relieved to be in
the safety of her own home. She glanced out the window to see if anyone was
there. The footpath was empty.... after tossing her books on the lounge
room table she decided to grab a snack and get on-line.
She logged on under her screen name "ByAngel213."
She checked her Messenger list and saw her on-line friend "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 neighbourhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I
didn't see anyone 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 netball 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 ice-skaters. LOL
GoTo123: What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Liverpool Cats. We have tiger paws on our
uniforms. They are really cool.
GoTo123: Did you shoot goals?
ByAngel213: No I play Goal Defence. I've got to go. My homework has
to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them cranky 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, 1991, Age:13, State where she lived:
New South Wales, Hobbies: Netball, Movies, skating and going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she lived in Liverpool because she
had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30p.m. every
afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played netball
on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the
Liverpool Cats. Her favourite position GD was printed on her uniform. He
knew she was in the eighth grade at the Liverpool High School. She had told
him all this in previous conversations they had 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 netball that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her
from walking home from the courts. 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 Goal Circle
position to see a man watching her closely. He was leaning against the
seats at the end of the Court 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 in the stand 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 the
Burger joint and sat there until time to make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in
the lounge-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 netball courts sitting
on the lounge chair.
"Sit down," her father began, "this man has 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 Hobart!
"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 talk 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 Netball team and the
position you played. The position and name on your jersey just made finding
you a breeze."
Shannon was stunned. You mean you don't live in Hobart?"
He laughed. "No, I live in Sydney 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 to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've
earned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so
they will be safe too. 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*****
Again, please send this to as many people as you can to teach them to not
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 HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is not one of your usual around the office jokes, it is a lot more serious and could effect your family, especially if you have one of those kids that loves the internet and chatting to people in chat rooms.
I don't know if anything in it is true, but I do know that it makes a lot of sense once you have read through it.
Subject: Footsteps on line (a MUST read when you have 5 mins)
How spooky and terrible is this!!!
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 as the footsteps kept pace with her she was
afraid to look back and was glad that she was almost home. Shannon said a
quick prayer "God please get me home safe." She saw the veranda light
burning and she leaned against the door she for a moment, relieved to be in
the safety of her own home. She glanced out the window to see if anyone was
there. The footpath was empty.... after tossing her books on the lounge
room table she decided to grab a snack and get on-line.
She logged on under her screen name "ByAngel213."
She checked her Messenger list and saw her on-line friend "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 neighbourhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I
didn't see anyone 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 netball 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 ice-skaters. LOL
GoTo123: What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Liverpool Cats. We have tiger paws on our
uniforms. They are really cool.
GoTo123: Did you shoot goals?
ByAngel213: No I play Goal Defence. I've got to go. My homework has
to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them cranky 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, 1991, Age:13, State where she lived:
New South Wales, Hobbies: Netball, Movies, skating and going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she lived in Liverpool because she
had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30p.m. every
afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played netball
on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the
Liverpool Cats. Her favourite position GD was printed on her uniform. He
knew she was in the eighth grade at the Liverpool High School. She had told
him all this in previous conversations they had 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 netball that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her
from walking home from the courts. 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 Goal Circle
position to see a man watching her closely. He was leaning against the
seats at the end of the Court 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 in the stand 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 the
Burger joint and sat there until time to make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in
the lounge-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 netball courts sitting
on the lounge chair.
"Sit down," her father began, "this man has 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 Hobart!
"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 talk 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 Netball team and the
position you played. The position and name on your jersey just made finding
you a breeze."
Shannon was stunned. You mean you don't live in Hobart?"
He laughed. "No, I live in Sydney 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 to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've
earned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so
they will be safe too. 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*****
Again, please send this to as many people as you can to teach them to not
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 HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN
