Oh and I have to add that my own dear Father-in-Law is a bit of a waltish character. He did serve in the RAF, but not for an awfully long time, during the Aden conflict.
Now he has the (proper) medal to show for this. However I was visiting the old soak with Mrs QFI the other week, and he was off to a British legion do. Being a true Scot, he had all his highland finery on, but what's this? FOUR medals on his right breast, and his one genuine one on the left. It turned out that he had bought four more (An unofficial QGJ with a YELLOW ribbon, an unofficial "For General Service" one (With a red white and blue ribbon) along with a couple more for reasons undisclosed.
I asked about his QGJ one, (seeing as he retired some 20 odd years back) and he had the gall to tell me that his is a genuine one. He forgets that perhaps I got a genuine one too, and it looks nothing like his!
So your friend may be a genuine ex forces type, and he could be "spicing up" his bland career, like my dear Dad in law. I still think he may be a total Walter Mitty though by the sounds of it.