World of Secrets: The Child Cancer Scam

Episode 1: The Video
BBC | December 15, 2025

Episode Overview

The season premiere of World of Secrets immerses listeners in the harrowing world of international charity scams targeting desperate families of ill children. Through the real-life ordeal of Algin Tabasa and her son Khalil in Cebu, Philippines, the BBC exposes how hope is manipulated—and donations redirected—by a foreign-led operation. The episode sets up a bigger investigation into how professionally-produced “help my child” videos are crafted, monetized, and exploited, all while families wait for money that may never come.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Faked Celebration—At the Expense of Dignity

• The episode opens with Algin Tabasa, her critically ill son Khalil, and their family arriving at a hospital room festooned with balloons and banners—not for healing, but for a staged video orchestrated by a foreign “sponsor”.

• Manipulative Tactics:

  • Khalil’s head is forcefully shaved to “look sick.”
  • Medical props, including fake IVs, are used to intensify emotional impact.
  • Menthol ointment and onions are employed to induce tears for the camera.

  “They rubbed menthol ointment on his face and put onions in front of his eyes so that he would fake cry.”
  —Algin Tabasa (Mother), [04:45]

2. Family Life Before Crisis

• The show grounds listeners in Algin’s world: a crowded, lively Cebu household filled with multiple generations, noise, and laughter.

• Khalil’s Early Childhood:

  • Described as happy, loving, goofy—a kid who loved TikTok, sweets, and dreamed of becoming a policeman.
  • Signs of illness: bruises, swollen belly, nosebleeds, long fevers.

  “Khalil was always playing with his brother and sisters and he loved to hug me every day... He wanted to be a policeman when he grew up.”
  —Algin Tabasa (Mother), [08:10]

3. Diagnosis and Desperation

• July 2022: Khalil, age 7, is diagnosed with leukemia.

• The family quickly faces insurmountable medical bills; Algin, earning only $8/day, pleads for help everywhere.

• Referred through a contact to a local man, Roy Inchiato, who claims to connect families with foreign donors.

  “The doctor insisted that Khalil start chemotherapy immediately so his condition wouldn’t worsen… We were faced with a very large bill.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [10:55]

4. ‘Auditioning’ for a Sponsor

• Roy requests an initial home video as an “audition”—a harrowing sample of Khalil pleading for donations.

• Communication is persistent, detailed, and controlling. Roy provides scripts and feedback; Algin is instructed exactly what to say and film.

  “Listen, Jin. This opportunity comes only once. So let’s make the most of it... All of us will benefit from the good things we do.”
  —Roy Inchiato (Sponsor’s Representative), [12:37]

• Roy’s instructions make the process transactional and urgent.

5. The Foreign Sponsor Arrives

• After months of promises and delays (cited religious holidays, script preparation), a bearded, heavyset Canadian named Erez arrives.

• Algin is given 40,000 pesos (approx. $700), with the promise of 100,000 pesos ($1,500) monthly if the video is successful—life-changing sums in the Philippines.

  “He told me if the video clicked, he’d give us 100,000 pesos per month.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [22:28]

• Algin signs a contract quickly—never shown a copy, unsure what she is agreeing to.

6. Production: Deception in the Name of Charity

• Erez directs both a home shoot and the emotionally-manipulative hospital video.

• Family must portray anguish and suffering according to orchestrated scripts.

  “They set up some medical props. The IVs weren't real. Everything was staged.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [02:58]

• The destination and actual use of the video remain opaque; Algin is told little about where donations will go.

  “He didn’t tell us where we would see the video. They just told us they were going to upload it to social media. But he didn’t give us a link.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [24:22]

7. After the Cameras: Waiting for Hope

• Months pass; no further payments arrive.

• Erez claims the campaign was “not successful,” effectively cutting off family support.

  “He told us it wasn’t successful. So, as I understood it, the video just didn’t make any money.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [24:43]

8. A Journalist Uncovers a Pattern

• The BBC’s Simi Jalaosho (narrator) discovers similar “sick child” videos while online—with large sums visible in donation tallies, little real transparency, and a recurring logo, “Chance Latecva”.

  “It’s of a little girl with a shaved head, tears streaming down her cheeks... When I click on the campaign link, I see it’s raised US$450,000 and counting.”
  —Simi Jalaosho (Narrator), [26:19]

• Versions of Khalil’s video are also found online, this time styled for other children and in multiple languages, all showing the same manipulative techniques.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the pressure of faking the video:

  “I was standing by Khalil’s side... He was telling us what to do and what to say, how to say it.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [03:11]

• On family poverty and desperation:

  “Please help us, sir. We can't pay the doctor anymore. We really don't have anything left. Not even a peso.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [12:51]

• On realization and betrayal:

  “We did everything he asked us to do so that we could get the help that we needed and he kept that from us. I trusted him a lot and that’s what he did to me.”
  —Algin Tabasa, [28:59]

Important Timestamps

• 01:31 – Algin and Khalil arrive at staged hospital shoot
• 02:11 – Instructions to fake Khalil’s birthday
• 04:45 – Onions and menthol used to force tears
• 07:54 – Algin describes Khalil’s childhood
• 09:26 – Khalil’s health deteriorates
• 10:45 – Details of the family’s financial struggle
• 12:37 – “Opportunity comes only once” – Roy’s persuasion
• 15:14 – Khalil recites sponsor’s script
• 21:33 – The contract with Erez is signed
• 22:12 – Algin receives $700 cash up front
• 24:04 – Hospital filming with staged props
• 24:43 – Campaign deemed “unsuccessful” by Erez
• 26:19 – Discovery of similar charity scam videos online
• 28:23 – Khalil featured in a global donation campaign

Tone and Style Notes

The episode maintains an empathetic, investigative, yet restrained tone—balancing the raw emotions of the families with the meticulous, persistent probing of the BBC team. Dialogue is often direct, vulnerable, and laden with both hope and betrayal.

Conclusion

Episode 1 establishes The Child Cancer Scam as a complex, emotionally-charged investigation that exposes not just international charity fraud, but the profound vulnerabilities of families in crisis. It leaves listeners with crucial questions: where do these donations go, who profits, and can such exploitation ever be justified by a promise of hope?

To Come:
What is the global reach of this scam? How many families and donors are caught in its web? The investigation continues in the next episode.