Next time you wind up in a situation like this, just lie about your number.
By politely pointing out the absurdity, we can maybe raise a tiny bit of awareness. I am sure at least a handful of people behind me in the line noticed.
Comically, it seems many others use this as I frequently find loyalty points already there.
I’d like to find the club of likeminded folks.
Sadly more places are requiring validation.
It’s also funny when telemarketers from other countries aren’t familiar and accept it as a real number.