fall prey

Verb

 * 1) To be affected, or overcome by, a bad situation; used with to.
 * Many children at our school have fallen prey to the 'flu bug.
 * Inexperienced teachers sometimes fall prey to fears that they do not know enough.
 * Inexperienced teachers sometimes fall prey to fears that they do not know enough.

Usage notes

 * fall prey is almost always followed by the preposition to.

Translations

 * Hungarian:
 * Italian: cadere vittima
 * Polish:, padać ofiarą