Arci Muñoz shares 'horror story' of man stealing her credit card in business-class flight
To get more, you need to pay more, they say. Actress Arci Muñoz was taken by surprise when she availed of business-class seats on an airline but ended up departing the aircraft without one of her credit cards.
The 34-year-old star talked about her "horror story" in a video posted on her TikTok account on Nov. 10.
It happened as Arci was flying home to the Philippines after a vacation in Japan last week. She went on board Korean Air's flight KE 704, which departed Narita, Japan on Nov. 10, at 2 p.m., and landed in Incheon, South Korea at 4:50 p.m. on the same day, for a one-hour layover.
As the plane was about to land at the Incheon Airport, the actress noticed a stranger standing right outside her personal cubicle.
"I was resting in my cubicle and then of course, when it's time to land, nagising ako, naalimpungatan ako, may lalaking nakatayo sa cubicle ko," she recalled.
Arci described the man as "nakaayos, maporma" and wearing "magarbong luxury items" just like any first-class passenger. This is why it didn't surprise her that he was trying to get a magazine from her cubicle although the actress is aware that "all business-class seats have magazines in their cubicles."
"Ako naman, inisip ko lang na baka wala siya nung magazine sa cubicle ko," Arci remarked.
However, the act which appeared to be nothing unusual was, in fact, part of a scheme to steal a valuable from the actress.
"Buti nalang this woman—she was sent by God—she asked me, 'Do you know this guy?' and I was like, 'No.'" Arci recounted. "And then she stood up, and she confronted the man saying, 'Why did you touch her bag?'"
"Ako naman, sabi ko, 'Bakit nawawala bag ko?' And then I saw my bag on the floor near the aisle, e, sa window seat ako nakaupo," she continued.
Arci said the woman then reprimanded the guy, saying, "That's not okay, why did you touch her bag?"
They then called a flight attendant to report that the man touched Arci's bag, but he denied it. "So I was thinking, 'Ano ito, modus nila talaga ako? Sumasakay sila ng business class, they fly?'" she recalled.
Arci got off the plane as usual when it landed. She also opted not to report the incident to Korean Air when she landed in South Korea, as her connecting flight to Manila was about to leave in an hour.
At that time, she didn't think that she'd lose one of her credit cards as all of them were stored in one place inside her bag.
It was only after two days that the actress-entrepreneur knew about the man's misdeed.
@ramonathornes HORROR STORY IN THE SKY. @Korean Air ♬ original sound - Arci Munoz
"May notification sa bank ko na someone was using my card sa Ho Chi Minh sa Vietnam and Jakarta," she said, noting that she's "just really thankful" that her bank, BDO, was quick to take the necessary actions.
Arci ended her video, hoping that her experience would serve as a warning for travelers to be alert and mindful of their belongings even while flying business class.
"It's a dangerous world out there. So you have to be safe, you have to be alert, to be careful, mindful of your things," she said. "I'm doing this video lang para lang may mga ganitong modus kahit sa eroplano. The world is not a safe place."
The actress also called on Korean Air to address her concern after she left her email with them and the airline "said [they're] gonna follow up on this case."
"So I hope to hear from you guys and this doesn't happen to anyone else 'cause if he did it once, he's gonna do it again not until we do something to stop it. So please, I hope to hear from you 'cause this has to stop. Dapat wala nang mabiktima sa mga ganito. Thank you," Arci concluded.
PhilSTAR L!fe has reached out to Korean Air for their statement and to Arci for further comments but has yet to hear back from both.