[+/-] (1) Get spammed. (2) Report spam. (3) PROFIT!

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today issued a report assessing whether and how a system that rewards members of the public for tracking down spammers could help improve enforcement of the anti-spam law passed last year.

According to the report, FTC Commissioners believe that reward amounts in the range of $100,000 to $250,000 are reasonable.

Note that the most effective system would target insiders of a spam operation, not recipients of spam. As the report notes:

[C]ybersleuths do not have the power to issue or enforce subpoenas, in most instances they cannot legally obtain and supply to the Commission admissible evidence of a spammer’s identity, whereabouts, or level of illegal activity

Insiders, however, are often privy to this kind of evidence and would not need a subpoena to obtain it. So don't begin forwarding all your spam to the FTC, unless, of course, you are a spammer ;)