A media controversy has broken in Denmark that is being compared to the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

Police in Copenhagen are investigating claims that an employee at a Danish IT company leaked details of celebrities' credit card transactions to the Danish gossip magazine, Se og Hør (See and Hear).

It follows statements made by several of the magazine's former employees that reporters used credit card information from the informant to discover the whereabouts of Danish royals and celebrities.

Their claims appear in a book by one of the magazine's former journalists, Ken Rasmussen, in which he describes the systematic leaking by an employee of the bank payment service, Nets, to journalists between 2008 and 2012.

The magazine's publisher has launched an internal investigation into the affair. But Se og Hør's current chief editor, Niels Pinborg, denies any knowledge of the alleged illegal leaks.

Se og Hør offers money to the public for pictures, story tips and information about royals and celebrities.

Some Scandinavian newspapers, which are referring to the scandal (inevitably) as "Se og Hør-gate", are now debating just how far the media should go in trying to obtain stories, just as happened in the wake of the UK hacking scandal.

A Danish broadcasting journalist told me by email: "It is a big story here... Heads are falling and people are in shock." Denmark's main national TV service is planning to air a current affairs segment tonight on "crimes" committed by the press.

Sources: AP via Tribtown/Pressen på P3/Private information