The Child Cancer Scam

Across the world, desperate parents searching for help are being deceived by a global network of scammers exploiting children with cancer. These operators create emotional fundraising videos in which vulnerable children are made to cry, beg for their lives and even shave their heads, all to elicit donations.

BBC Eye Investigations has spoken to nine families, from multiple countries including Ukraine, Colombia and the Philippines, who never received the four million dollars raised in their children’s names. Some of these children died unable to afford the lifesaving treatment international donors believe they were giving to.

The investigation began in October 2023 when a YouTube advert led to a fundraising campaign for a little girl appearing to have raised more than half a million dollars. Soon more videos emerged, children from different countries, different backgrounds, yet the campaigns all looked strikingly similar. Something wasn’t right.

Several organisations appear to be behind these campaigns, all registered in Israel and some in the United States, including one of the most active, Chance Letikva - known in English as “Chance for Hope”.

BBC Eye Investigations uncovers the network of organisations presenting as charities, and exposes how they divert donations, mislead the public, and exploit vulnerable families around the world.