A psychologist has shared some tips to sort the harmless liars from the dangerous ones, after Alec Balwin’s wife Hilaria was caught faking Spanish birth.

Joe Hildebrand revealed his own white lie from his past, having told fellow teenagers he lost his virginity to a foreign woman to impress them.

“‘You wouldn’t know her, she’s from Canada. Where is she? Oh she’s gone back to Canada now.’

“I don’t know why I picked Canada. I was in Dandenong … I picked the furthest possible country away!”

Clinical psychologist Amanda Gordon told Joe extreme forms of compulsive lying are “relatively uncommon”.

“Many of us might try and … present to the best of our abilities, and that might be exaggerating the truth a little bit. In most cases it’s benign.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Getty