Funniest email scam ever? Nigerian astronaut stuck in space needs $3m to return home

We have all had them. The scam emails that you cannot quite believe that land in your inbox (if you haven't, they are in your spam box) looking to trick you out of money, and the one currently making the rounds on social media about a Nigerian astronaut stuck in space is about as bizarre as they come.

"I am Dr Bakare Tunde," the email begins, "the cousin of former Nigerian Astronaut, Air Force Major Abacha Tunde." So far so believable, well, as long as you accept the fact that it would be admittedly quite strange to receive an email from the cousin of a former Nigerian Astronaut.

It continues to explain that the Major Tunde became stranded on the Salyut 8T secret Soviet space station in 1990 after his place on a return flight was taken up by cargo. The horror.

Dr Tunde explains that he needs to raise the staggering sum of $3m (£2.1m, €2.7m) to save his cousin and bring him back to Earth as "he is in good humour, but wants to come home." The $3m needed to rescue this poor soul will apparently allow Dr Tunde to gain access to a "Lagos National Savings" trust fund where the astronaut has "accumulated flight pay and interest amounting to almost $15m (£10.5m, €13m)."

The email is of course a complete fabrication aimed at targeting and exploiting honest people looking to financially aid people in need, or those gullible enough to believe they will ever see a return on their investment that Dr Tunde promises will come from the trust fund "in due course".

If you have it in your inbox then you should report or delete it, but have a good chuckle first.