MSNBC.com Traces Spam, Finds Surprise Beneficiaries

Under the premise that spam exists because there's money to be made with it MSNBC.com answered a lowest-mortgage-rate-ever spam and followed the money.
The companies that benefit from spam revealed some surprises, including Ameriquest Mortgage, Ivy Mortgage and Quicken Loans.
The link to them is weak, though. It includes several layers of lead resellers, and these companies are mostly to blame if they don't react to spam reports.
The more profound problem are ISPs that indeed do not react to complaints about known spammers under rumored "pink contracts".
The article also includes advice from a small-time spammer on -- how to stop spam: do not respond.