CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Jul 23, 2014) - Today, StubHub, the ticket reselling company, announced that cyberthieves accessed the accounts of more than 1,000 customers and bought tickets for unspecified events. The breach reaches from the United States to Canada to the United Kingdom. The thieves got the login and password information of account holders from data breaches at other Web sites -- another reason not to use the same information for multiple Web sites. TransUnion, one of the national credit reporting companies that helps individuals protect their identity, takes this opportunity to remind consumers of how to create stronger passwords to better minimize their risk of becoming a victim of identity theft.

"Identity thieves are getting smarter and faster at stealing consumers' personal information -- so consumers have to act smart and stay ahead of them," said Ken Chaplin, senior vice president at TransUnion. "Consumers should change their online account passwords more often and create passwords that are difficult for an identity thief to decode."

At TransUnion, we think of ourselves as your partner in identity and credit protection. That's why we'd like to share some easy ways you can create strong passwords.

• Different account? Different password. If a thief steals from one of your accounts, don't make it easy for them to steal from others.
• Don't be obvious. The first passwords thieves will try are ones like: password, 1234567890 or similar.
• Be random. Pick something obscure. Don't use your name and stay away from real words.
• Misspelling is good. If your password is "I hate yellow" replace some letters with numbers and symbols like "1 h8 y3Ll0w
• The longer, the better. The longer the password, the harder it could be to figure out.
• Use a mnemonic. Think up a sentence, such as "My favorite color is green," and use the first or last letter of each word as your password ("Mfcig" or "yErsN" in the example).

Strong passwords are a must. But with so much of our personal data spread across the web -- and with thieves getting smarter and smarter -- creating good passwords for your accounts may not be enough. Review your credit and personal information for signs of suspicious activity.

To learn more and to better safeguard your identity from thieves by obtaining your credit report, visit www.TransUnion.com.

About TransUnion
TransUnion Interactive, Inc. is a consumer subsidiary of TransUnion. As a global leader in credit and information management, TransUnion creates advantages for millions of people around the world by gathering, analyzing and delivering information. For businesses, TransUnion helps improve efficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by delivering comprehensive data and advanced analytics and decisioning. For consumers, TransUnion provides the tools, resources and education to help manage their credit health and achieve their financial goals. Through these and other efforts, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies worldwide. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Chicago, TransUnion employs associates in more than 33 countries on five continents. www.transunion.com. Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TransUnion.