NANCHANG - Four people have been arrested in East China's Jiangxi province for alleged fraud conducted via the mobile messaging app WeChat, local police said on Saturday.

The suspects first joined WeChat groups for antique aficionados. The ringleader, whose surname is Chen, then advertised items for sale and asked friends to pose as buyers and leave positive comments, the police said.

When contacted by potential buyers, Chen asked them to wire money to his account, according to the police.

However, once he received the money, Chen allegedly blocked the buyers' WeChat accounts without shipping the items.

Police began investigating the scam ring in February.