Banks and credit card companies should have a legal duty to inform customers when their personal details have been stolen, according to legal experts.

The call came on Sunday evening from public prosecutor Fred Speijers and privacy watchdog CBP chairman Jacob Kohnstamm during an edition of tv programme Zembla about identity theft.
There is currently no legal requirement for banks and credit card companies to tell customers about identity theft but Speijers and Kohnstamm want them made responsible. ‘Large databases containing personal information are treated very carelessly,’ Kohnstamm told the programme.