On Tuesday evening's ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, watched by millions of Americans, the programme `On the Money Trail' listed Bermuda as one of the jurisdictions linked with credit card fraud.

ABC's Lind Douglas reported: "The Cayman islands has just about everything a rich person could want.

"Glorious beaches, privacy, and a place to hide money from the IRS so it can't be taxed.

"More than a dozen countries offer secret bank accounts, but IRS investigators said they were stunned to discover just how many Americans may be using them."

As Ms Douglas was saying this, a list of countries, including Bermuda, scrolled across the screen as jurisdictions offering offshore accounts.

Deputy Commissioner of the IRS Dale Hart told ABC: "There is a potential for one to two million tax payers to have these kinds of accounts overseas."

Ms Douglas then reported: "On the internet, banks and so called financial advisors offer "tax avoidance" and "strict secrecy" if they set up accounts in countries where banking laws protect privacy.

These secret accounts come with credit cards, no name appears on the card.

The IRS says offshore accounts are used mostly by self employed professionals who report their own earnings to the government.

Doctors, lawyers, entertainers, people whose income is in the top one percent.

Investigators say many Americans are living off credit cards tied to those accounts."

Dale Hart added: "To charge rental cars, to charge airline tickets, to charge meals, to charge tuition for their kids in school.

"They are using them for the daily expenses in life actually."

Ms. Douglas added: "Offshore accounts are not illegal, but not paying taxes on the money in them is."

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa was interviewed and said: "These tax payers that are going offshore to avoid paying their fair share of taxes are not moral, ethical and they are surely illegal."

Ms. Douglas continued: "Some tax experts doubt there are a million plus tax cheats as the cost of getting caught is so high."

Criminal tax attorney Elliot Kajan told World News Tonight: "It's a very dangerous audit lottery that they are playing because if indeed they are caught and they have no good defences, then they are going to go to jail under the sentencing guide line rules."

Ms Douglas concluded: "But only one in 160 tax returns is ever audited. It is a dangerous game that more Americans may be willing to play."