It sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s true: At this very moment, a pile of cash could be waiting for you, part of the billions of dollars sitting in government agencies waiting to be claimed by the rightful owners.

How does this happen? Most commonly, a utility company, a bank or a pension fund can’t track down the owners of the money because people move and don’t report a new address, change their names after marriage or divorce, or fail to report a family member’s death. If the owner of the money can’t be located after one to five years, the company declares the funds unclaimed and turns the money over to the government. The good news: It’s easy to find and reclaim your funds.

For money held by states, go to the Web site missingmoney.com, run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, a nonprofit organization in Lexington, Ky. Type in your name and home state. If there are unclaimed funds out there, the site tells you which state to contact. Then visit unclaimed.org and click “Find Property” to access links to individual state treasury Web pages, which will tell you how to file a claim.Federal agencies also hold unclaimed funds, but since there’s no centralized government database, you have to contact each agency individually.

Last year, the IRS said it had $73 million in 2004 refunds that couldn’t be delivered. Check whether some of that money is yours by going to irs.gov and clicking on “Where’s My Refund?”

• For unclaimed U.S. savings bonds, check the U.S. Treasury Department’s treasurydirect.gov.

• If you think you might have a forgotten savings or checking account and the bank no longer exists, check with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s database on fdic.gov.

• The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation offers an online pension-search program at pbgc.gov, where you can check on any unclaimed pension benefits.

• Many homeowners who paid off a Federal Housing Administration home loan before 2001 may be owed a mortgage insurance refund. For more information, go to www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/comp/refunds/index.cfm.