It sounds like a plot from a a spy novel, but the anonymous delivery to a newspaper of a cardboard box containing microfilm has ripped open a huge story in the German newspapers.

Journalists with the Frankfurter Rundschau were sent confidential details of tens of thousands of German people's bank accounts, credit cards, their full names and addresses, and PIN numbers.

The information sent to the newspaper's editorial office was contained in a pile of microfilm inside the parcel, forcing journalists to scrabble for a magnifying glass to see what was contained.

According to media reports, the data had been stolen from Landesbank Berlin, the country's largest credit card issuer, meaning that customers with institutions up and down Germany had been affected. Amongst the victims are holders of Amazon Visa, various ADAC (a German automobile association) Visa and Mastercards, and even the Xbox classic card.

The question, of course, is how was this information stolen - and who else might have access to it?

It seems unlikely that the journalists at Frankfurter Rundschau are not the only ones to have access to this very valuable data, that would be an identity thief's dream.