Article posted Tuesday, March 31, 2015 3:41pm

Dear Mary Pat,

Is there a difference between lying online and exaggerating? My friend met her boyfriend online and his profile said he is 6’5″. When she met him in person, he was no more than 6’1″. That’s a big difference. She really didn’t care about his height, but it did bother her that he lied about it.

And then I keep seeing these ads where people are trying to sell things at a local rummage sale and some of the pricing is an insult to my intelligence. Please don’t tell me you paid $350 for something when I can look it up within seconds online and know for a fact that the item is worth $75 tops.

How do they expect to get away with it?

Little White Lies

Ephraim, Wis.

Dear Little White Lies,

I have no idea how they expect to get away with it. I wonder about these things too. I’m not sure there is a difference between lying and exaggerating. You’re concealing the truth. I do think some people might think they are “embellishing” or “getting creative” with the facts; some might not even be aware that they are doing it. You really can’t get away with anything these days and that’s maybe one of the benefits of the Internet age. It helps with solving crimes (surveillance cameras, cell phone tracking, etc.) and it will hopefully curb some people’s need to tell fish tales.

Good luck,

Mary Pat