How many people are lying during the application process?

When I was in Toronto a bunch of people told me to just lie when applying. The housekeeping person at the hostel said she had never even cleaned her room but she told the company that she has 4 years of housekeeping experience.

I wanted to work at a grocery store and someone told me to write down my friend's name as a reference (their parents own a grocery store) and then pretend that I had worked there.

Many other people told me to lie ... but I would feel awful doing that. I told a white lie to an employer and I finally got a job but then they found out the truth later and they told me they were "disappointed and confused". I quit that job but the exit interview was so awkward, I couldn't imagine if I worked there long term.