A plane passenger recently found himself narrowly avoiding involvement in a complex crime scheme when another traveler asked him to swap seats.

An American named Dakota, who is known as @thisdudenameddk on Instagram, shared his experience on the photo-sharing app. His followers were taken aback by the numerous twists in his tale.

While traveling on commercial flights from Florida to Chicago, and subsequently from Chicago to Kansas City, he captioned his viral video: "Be very cautious if you ever swap seats with someone on an airplane, as it could lead to serious consequences."

Dakota began his story by mentioning that he was welcomed onto the first leg of his journey, seated in the aisle next to two older gentlemen.

He recounted: "A lady approached me and asked, 'Hey, would you mind switching seats with me? I have a seat that's a bit further up front'.

"I thought to myself, 'Oh, this isn't a bad deal. I'll be closer to the front'.

"That's great because it means I'll be able to disembark the plane quicker. Exiting the plane is always a hassle - you land, and it feels like you're stuck there forever. People start standing, it becomes awkward and uncomfortable."

The Instagram personality continued about the woman: "But then she mentioned, 'I really want to sit by my son.' So, I asked her, 'Well, these men are older than you,' and she started acting really strange.

"Her reasoning didn't add up, and I got a gut feeling that something was off, so I decided not to do it. I told her, 'Sorry, I can't switch seats,' and she started yelling at me, calling me names. I said, 'Lady, calm down'.

"She called me stupid and insisted that I needed to swap seats with her, even accusing me of being 'racist'. Not exactly the way to persuade someone to change seats with you.

The woman allegedly claimed she wanted to sit beside her son (Getty Stock Image)

"A flight attendant intervened and said, 'Ma'am, you need to go sit down, this is getting out of hand'. So, I didn't think much of it afterwards."

Dakota explained further: "A few minutes later, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) officers along with the police boarded the plane to escort the woman off. She wasn't cooperating, so they handcuffed her. I had no idea what was going on."

"After we landed in Kansas City, I asked the flight attendant about it," he continued. "They told me it was a good thing I didn't switch seats because it might have caused confusion. She had stolen someone's credit card and Social Security information.

"She had opened a credit card in someone else's name, committing identity theft and booking flights all over the US.

"She had managed to get two others to switch seats with her before, and they hadn't encountered any issues or gotten caught, but this time it could have led to trouble."

The woman was arrested by the TSA (Getty Stock Image)

"So, be cautious if someone tries to swap seats with you on a plane."

Many of Dakota's online followers quickly admitted in the comments that they often switch seats when asked.

"OMG!!! I've done it many times just because they were older people wanting more comfortable seats," one user confessed.

"Seeing your post today has taught me a valuable lesson."

Another commented: "Wow! I never considered it this way!! I've switched seats so families could sit together! Wow!!!"