BALTIMORE--CMS is warning seniors and people with disabilities to be aware of a scheme that asks Medicare beneficiaries for money and checking account information to enroll them in a nonexistent prescription drug plan.

The scheme is called the "$299 Ring" for the typical amount of money Medicare beneficiaries are talked into withdrawing from their checking accounts.

Medicare has received complaints from Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Georgia. Complaints have been made against a number of different companies, but authorities believe that the companies are the same and are typically based outside the country.

No Medicare drug plan can ask a person with Medicare for bank account or other personal information over the telephone, CMS explained in an alert issued last week. Additionally, legitimate Medicare drug plans will not ask for payment over the telephone or the Internet. They must bill the beneficiary for the monthly premium. Typically, that amount is set up as an automatic withdrawal from the beneficiary's monthly Social Security check. Beneficiaries may also opt to pay the monthly premiums in other ways such as writing a check or setting up automatic payments from their checking accounts.

Consumers can report these cases their local police department or call (877) 772-3379.