It's so sad, but so true
I did that stuff as a kid, talked to random people I met (mostly on message boards).
In fact, one girl who ended up being one of my best-friends (though, she could have easily been a creepy old man) I even gave my real full-name & address to because we were exchanging Christmas presents when I was about 15. It's scary to look back on, thank God she really is who she said she was.
She lived in SoCal & I lived in NC. We still haven't met, though we still talk. She now lives in Maine...