SIX suspects who ran a scam from Myanmar, cheating 21 online users in China out of 130,000 yuan (US$18,890), have been arrested for fraud and illegally crossing the border.

Fengxian District prosecutors said the six had thought operating from within Myanmar could help them to escape justice by hiding overseas. They used two rafts to go from a frontier port in Yunnan Province to Myanmar in October 2015.

Once there, the group posted online ads, stating part-time jobs were available for Chinese mainland Internet users. They were required to buy goods, and then tap a thumbs-up button for goods sold at an online shopping website to boost sales. For each good review, they would be paid 3 yuan and receive their stake back.

However, prosecutors said the operation was a scam. One of the alleged victims, identified as Yuan Fan, said he was conned out of 11,650 yuan.

Myanmar police helped to catch the six on January 11, and handed them over to Chinese police nine days later.