The invention relates to a data carrier into which, by a laser beam, identifiers (20, 22) are introduced in the form of patterns, letters, numbers and/or images that are visible due to local changes in the optical properties of the data carrier, effected by the laser beam and resulting from material transformations. According to the present invention, the data carrier comprises a laser-sensitive recording layer (26) that is transparent in the visible spectral range and that is provided with a surface relief in the form of a lens grid (28). The identifiers are introduced with the laser beam from different directions through the lens grid (28) into the recording layer (26) and are perceptible when later viewed from those same directions. The data carrier is transparent at least in the area of the introduced identifiers (20, 22).