TWENTY suspected gang members have been detained for involvement in an online credit fraud of over 4 million yuan (US$590,000), Shanghai police said yesterday.

The gang allegedly hooked up people in WeChat groups with attractive false advertisements offering loans, and then charged up to 4,500 yuan for “agent fees.”

Since November, there have been at least 1,300 victims around the country — 15 of them from Shanghai — police said.

Jinshan District police started investigation in April after a local resident, surnamed Chen, reported being defrauded of 4,000 yuan.

Like other victims, Chen was approached by members of the gang who bought their way into hundreds of WeChat groups and posted the ads, police said.

The suspected gang, headed by a man surnamed Xiao, was based in Liaocheng city, Shandong Province. Police said over 300,000 yuan was found in a raid on the gang’s offices and they managed to freeze 720,000 yuan in the gang’s bank accounts.