Would adding one of those random letter/number generators that you have to match and enter into a box (to prove you are a "live" human) while you are creating an account help? I would think that a lot of the "new" members were created by an automated bot of some sort judging by the number of them and I have seen such tactics used on other sites to prevent it from happening.
And/or have an admin send PM's that require a "human" response within a certain time period to keep an account active to weed out dead wood and spammers. If an account does go inactive could it remain for a designated period of time with the limited ability only of contacting the admin to re-activate it? That way if something happened to a legit member they could still keep their account without having to create a new one.
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