Originally Posted by Traveloguy
I am not sure if the above statement true. Several good friends of mine who work at BA that this is simply not the case. Although you maybe able to put something on the boarding pass in the information panel (thus in theory fake your status that way), you cannot fake your actual status. Remember that lounge dragons almost always swipe your boarding cards these days and it makes a call to the system and brings up your status there. If you can, have a look at the screen the lounge dragon is looking at after they have swiped your boarding pass.
.
Your good friends are incorrect; unless the system has changed, airport staff adding an FF number can specify the status level; I have seen it done myself where an OW Sapphire member has been entered as an OW Emerald member and the details Emerald/xxxxxx appears on the BP rather than Sapphire/xxxxxx.
Dave