The Child Cancer Scam: 5. The agency
World of Secrets
BBC
4.7 • 765 Ratings
🗓️ 29 December 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The investigation into why millions of dollars promised to families with sick children never reaches them moves to Israel. There we find misleading addresses and more questions than answers. Who is making these online campaigns which claim to help desperate parents? New ones keep appearing, but the story’s the same.
Season 10 of World of Secrets, The Child Cancer Scam, is a BBC Eye investigation for the BBC World Service.
Please note, the image is being used for illustrative purposes only and the child depicted is a model.
Reporter and Presenter: Simi Jolaoso Additional reporting: Jack Goodman and Ned Davies Writer and Producer: Neil McCarthy and Rob Wilson Sound design: Andy Fell Executive Producer: Rebecca Henschke Commissioning Senior Producer: Sarah Green Commissioning Editor: Jon Manel
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.8 | It's a hot morning here in Tel Aviv and we are headed to the address listed on the Chancellor |
| 0:15.4 | Tick for website. I want to see if there's an office there and if there's someone we can finally speak to. |
| 0:23.2 | The address is also the one listed for Chancellor Tikva on the official charity database. |
| 0:29.0 | Israeli journalist Tom 2 Weiswielder is with me. |
| 0:32.5 | So we're going to a city called Bacemesh, which is religious city. |
| 0:42.3 | We're going to a neighborhood that is populated with Orthodox Jews. And that means we need to come in a modest clothing. |
| 0:46.3 | So I brought for you some scarves, so you can cover your shoulders. |
| 0:52.3 | Yes, because we're going to try not to draw too much attention to ourselves. so you can cover your shoulders. And my chest, okay. |
| 0:57.7 | We're going to try not to draw too much attention to ourselves because we want to be respectful |
| 0:59.8 | and we want to try to get to the charity's offices. |
| 1:05.8 | Bet Shamesh has a large Orthodox Jewish or Haredi community. |
| 1:10.3 | It's about 30 kilometers west of Jerusalem. |
| 1:13.5 | They have the traditional dress for the men with their top hat and the jackets, |
| 1:18.2 | even when it's very hot outside, they wear it. |
| 1:20.8 | And for the women, they need to be modest, |
| 1:23.0 | which means that the skirt has to be after the knee line |
| 1:26.0 | and the shirt has to be covering the shoulders. |
| 1:30.1 | They are a tight-knit community, with their own schools, charity networks and neighborhood institutions. |
| 1:36.8 | Things that's going on inside the community, a lot of times doesn't go out to the general public. |
| 1:45.2 | So we are just arriving at the address on the Chancellor Tikva website, |
| 1:50.7 | and this seems like a residential neighbourhood. |
... |
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