World Of Secrets - The Child Cancer Scam: Trailer

Episode Date: December 10, 2025

Your child is critically ill with cancer. It’s the worst news you can get. But to make the situation even more awful, you struggle to afford the care they need. So, when someone tells you a foreign sponsor can help raise the money, you’ll do anything. You make a video: your child begs for help from strangers online. But it comes to nothing. You wait and wait for the cash from the donations. It never comes, and all the while your child is fighting for their life. In this World of Secrets podcast from the BBC World Service, BBC Eye uncovers the shocking truth. Released from 15th December. Please note, the show image is being used for illustrative purposes only and the person depicted in it is a model.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The Free Birth Society made millions selling a simple message to pregnant women. You don't need ultrasounds, doctors or midwives. You can free birth. But behind the scenes, terrible things were happening. I feel ashamed about this, but I didn't think that the deaths were bad until a year after I left. Subscribe to the Guardian Investigates feed. to get all the episodes of the birthkeepers.

Listen, wherever you get your podcasts, out now. It's the sort of news. Every parent dreads. We were lost. We didn't know what we were going to do. Our whole world crashed. Your child is diagnosed with cancer. At that moment,

I thought that was it. The end. A death sentence. It also triggers a financial crisis. We were faced with a very large bill. I really needed money for Khalil's treatment. But then, there's a ray of hope. Listen, Jin, this opportunity comes only once.

So let's make the most of it. An international charity can help raise money. He just told us that the sponsor wasn't from a around here and that all we would have to do is make a video to earn the money. Hello, my name is Caril. I am seven years old and I have cancer. I'm in a hospital and it hurt me a lot. They know exactly what they want. They rubbed menthol ointment on his face and put onions in front of his eyes so that he would fake cry. But when the filming is over, the money never comes.

He told us it wasn't successful. So, as I understood it, the video just didn't make any money. What these families don't know, what these families don't know, is that these campaign videos are successful. Millions of dollars appear to have been raised. It's hard to imagine that people can really make money out of such tragedy. I'm Simi Jola Oshio, and with a team of journalists around the world, I've spent two years investigating the people involved in this.

Anita, tell your dad to send me more photos of you. Why would you keep pushing for photos and videos? And why would you keep pushing a child, by the way? It's taken me all over the world. Colombia. Ukraine, the Philippines, and Israel. I also got scared. Like when he said, leave in 10 minutes or it's going to be a mess,

I also felt like we need to go because this is not a safe environment for us. Children are being exploited when they're at their weakest. They use Anna to raise funds for their own benefit, not for her. We have no money for my treatment. I want to be a normal kid. I want to go to school. Please, help me, please. This is World of Secrets.

Season 10, the Child Cancer Scouts. A BBC World Service Investigation, into a global shape-shifting network targeting children. I hate to put it this way, but they work kind of like a conveyor belt. There is always a demand. Now their parents are demanding answers. The point is, it's wrong. It's wrong and it has to stop at some point.

Someone has to stop it. World of Secrets, the child cancer scam, is released from the 15th. of December. Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you're in the UK, listen first on BBC Sounds. The Free Birth Society made millions selling a simple message to pregnant women. You don't need ultrasounds, doctors or midwives. You can free birth. But behind the scenes, terrible things were happening. I feel ashamed about this, but I didn't. I think that the deaths were bad until a year after I left. Subscribe to the Guardian Investigates feed to get all the episodes of The Birthkeepers.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Out now.