PHOENIX -- Several IRS branches in Arizona did not properly dispose of tax returns after they were processed, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General.

Inspectors found that in 2007 and 2008, tax returns were thrown away in Dumpsters outside of IRS offices in Phoenix, Tempe and Tucson.

It is unknown whether any personal information was actually taken from the Dumpsters, but that was little comfort to some taxpayers.

"That's why we have shredders. We have big huge industrial shredders and that's what needs to happen with that information," said taxpayer Jill Durant.

Tax returns can be especially helpful to identity thieves.

"It’s the holy grail for identity thieves. It has your name, birth date, Social Security number,” said Todd Davis, the CEO of LifeLock, which specializes in protecting personal information.

The report also listed a response from the IRS, in which the agency said they had corrected the problems and that all tax returns are now shredded once they are processed.