The Federal Trade Commission sued the company behind the dating site Match.com on Wednesday, saying it had used fake advertisements in an attempt to swindle hundreds of thousands of consumers into buying subscriptions.

According to the complaint against Match Group Inc., which was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Match.com has employed “five deceptive or unfair practices” since 2013 to get consumers to subscribe to the site or to keep them subscribed.

The trade commission also said Match.com had offered false promises or guarantees and failed to provide recourse for consumers who were unsuccessful in disputing charges. The site also made it difficult for consumers to cancel subscriptions, according to the lawsuit.

“We believe that Match.com conned people into paying for subscriptions via messages the company knew were from scammers,” Andrew Smith , the director of the trade commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection , said in a statement.