This is scary but unfortunately true... Please pass it on to anyone who has children or grandchildren on line and think they're safe.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS and HAVE YOUR CHILDREN READ IT TOO!

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. Bes ides 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 a nd 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 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!"

*****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 HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN

Well that's just great! As if my life wasn't going bad enough as it is, now I have something else to worry about.

Sorry, I know it's not your fault and your just trying to help, I'm just feeling a bit like God's punching bag right now.

Evan is only four, and since he can't type/or read yet hopefully this paticular problem is a ways off. Still I think the wife and I will have to start forming a plan now. Better prepared than the not. Thanks man.

This is scary but unfortunately true...

It makes a point, but I sincerely doubt it's true.

On-line predators are, unfortunately, true and numerous.

Kids are trusting sorts. We want them to be careful, yet not be so closed in that they're afraid to interact with anyone.

It's a fine line. Hopefully they'll use some common sense in these matters but that's not always enough. (see above story)

It's a fine and dangerous line.

Despite these frightening stories we all read about nowadays, these are still, thankfully, relatively rare occurences.

The real danger lies in those nearest to you, and whom you think you know well.

I suspect this is one of those urban legend things that has some validity to it. Doesn't sound all that far-fetched.

Anyone following the pedophile-pickup on Dateline?
Similar in that it follows a group of cops who sit in chatrooms all day prowling for pedophiles. They watch the interactions and also set themselves up with potential molesters by pretending to be young boys and girls and then have them come to a house to meet young girls mostly but some times young boys.

It's like watching the pied piper. So far they have arrested service men, youth ministers, a rabbi, a doctor, computer soft-ware programmers, a trucker and so many more it would curl your hair.
How the hell are we producing all these pedophiles???????????
Many of these men have their own young children at home. They admit if someone met their fifteen year old daughter on line and went to meet her baring condoms. lubricants, and gifts that they should be prosecuted to the max. But they shouldn't be they say because "wow, believe it or not...IT'S MY FIRST TIME...I SWEAR!!!"
Why would a 30 something year old man drive for 2 hours to meet a 13 year old in order to have sex with them? It is beyond twisted. Makes ya kinda look at your neighbour funny ya know.

It's like seeing any major disaster. You don't want to look, but at the same time your eyes just won't look away. NBC has done six or seven of these shows, some of these knuckleheads even admit to having watched at least one show, most apparently have an awareness of it, yet they're drawn to these houses like moths to a flame. Sure it's the first time ...

It's the pedophile's mindset--all of them.

Manipulation. Dominance. Control.

Notice how these are all youngsters who can't fight back, are socially inept, many of them, trusting, easily led.
IOW, perfect victims, if you look at the victimology.

As for the pedophiles with young kids at home, I'd bet that many, if not all, of these hapless youngsters are victims of familial incest.
However, since Moms might be soon hot on Pappy's trail, or the kid is fighting back now, the loser has-- HAS-- to look for more victims.

They are beyond rehab. They cannot be cured.

I still am shocked by the numbers. This show is really pulling them out of the wood pile...and it is waaaaaaaaaay beyond what I would have imagined and then some.