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 ran the rest of the way to her house. Once inside,
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 kewl.

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 theincident 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 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 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 moved cautiously to a chair across from the man. 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"

"I won't," Shannon promised solemnly. "Will you tell others about this so
they will be safe too?"

"It's a promise!"