Everything posted here, including user names is freely accessed through search engines. Not much could be done with that. Pretty sure spammers get paid some how. Computers can send out thousands, if not millions of advertisements in minutes. They only need to catch a few suckers each time to turn a profit. It's almost free, compared to the telephone or mailbox, which seems to have pretty much stopped at my house.
I would like to see a more active approach to ending this sort of thing, but doubt I'll ever see much difference in my life time. People still pirate software, and steal music an movies, which cost a lot of people money. Computer viruses are still going strong, and don't usually serve any useful purpose, other than entertainment for some nut-job. Spam cost almost nothing, produces sales, and I'm sure the little nerd gets some kicks from slipping past the hard work of those trying to keep it out.
They really need to get tough on the companies associated with the spam, seize, shut down, and jail the top executives, whether they acknowledge involvement or not. It's their company, and their ass, the should know, or make it a high priority to find out.
I'm guessing that if they get caught, they pay their fines, or lawyers drag it out until the courts are just too busy to deal with it, or they find an out. Usually some sort of deal is made. The nerds get high pay jobs, working for a company wanting to stop other nerds from abusing their computers...