Tuesday October 31, 2006, 2:04 pm
Parents need to watch what their children post on myspace.com I checked out my neices profile and she had her address and phone number posted. After explaining to her the dangers of posting such information she changed her posting. The bad thing is they can make their profile private and you don't know what they are posting. I am not suggesting that you spy on your children. Explain to them about what happens in the real world.

Tuesday October 31, 2006, 2:14 pm
We have worried about myspace but they insist it is ok.

Tuesday October 31, 2006, 2:17 pm


A Must Read for All who have children or grandchildren 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.

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 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 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! 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!"

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.

Tuesday October 31, 2006, 2:29 pm
From: Jennifer Winter
Date: 10/31/2006 12:36:03 PM
To: mduning@woh.rr.com
Subject: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - Cybertipline


Hello,



I am working with National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to increase awareness of an important resource - the Cybertipline. I am contacting you because we need your help in spreading the word about this significant cause.



Over the past few months, the issue of online predators and the safety of children online have come to the forefront in the media. NBC Dateline, Oprah and the New York Times have all done features on this increasing danger.



If you are not familiar, Cybertipline was instituted in 1998 and aims to “empower the public to take immediate and direct action to enforce a zero tolerance policy regarding child sexual exploitation.”



Did you know?

Approximately 1 in 5 children is sexually solicited online, but only 1 in 4 tells a parent about the experience.
70% of unwanted sexual solicitations to children occur while the child is using a home computer.


As you can see, there is an urgent need to educate parents, teachers and children alike that there is a safe place where they can report these types of crimes. I have attached both banners and logos for your use. Would you be willing to post any of the following information on your site? I look forward to working with you. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.



www.cybertipline.com

1-800-843-5678



Thanks,

Jen







Jennifer Winter

Online Marketing Associate

www.newmediastrategies.net





The whole email or message.

Wednesday November 1, 2006, 6:00 am
I don't allow my children online, they can only use the computer when I am watching and even then they are not allowed online. If my son needs info for school I look it up. I will protect them as long as I can, I know as they get older it will be harder but I am confident that my kids to this point are very open and honest with me and I know at some point this may or may not change but I am working to make sure our realtionship stays open and honest so I know what they are doing.