Airlines can't verify the status the applicant has via any system, they have to trust the submission the applicant made. LH &co were burned big time during the London/UK *A statusmatch in the 2000s, so they changed a few things and matched elites can't use some of the benefits easily. The AF/KL match a few years ago produced quite a few photoshop elites, but this has become the new normal for statusmatch campaigns. Using an agency like statusmatch.com is just a fig leaf to comply with any legal challenges the cuckolded loyalty program may have.