How to permanently lock your PayPal account

I'm changing email from Gmail to Fastmail, so today I decide to update my PayPal email address. When I signed in, they want me to enter a mobile phone number. I don't really want to do that, so give them the Indiana toll-free directory assistance number. I know, I know, it's my fault, too bad.

The next screen is "We've sent a code to your number, what's the code?" There is a small "Change" link next to the phone number, so I click that. Nothing.

I can't login because I can't confirm the bogus phone number.

I can change my password, but that still doesn't let me login.

I can call PayPal customer service, but they ask if you have an account (yes), they ask for the phone number. They won't accept "None" as an answer. I give them the bogus number and they say "We've sent a code to that number, what is it?"

So if you lose access to your phone, you lose access to your PayPal account. I called eBay, got a support rep, and he told me the same thing happened to him. He handled it by reporting a security violation - you can do that w/o a phone number or logging in. So I reported a hate crime, then described my actual problem. Sheesh!

There are posts on the PayPal community forum from people who have been trying to fix this for months.