Is it risky unlocking an iPhone?

I'm not a "techy" but i do own an iphone. Why would you want to "unlock " it?

YES it is risky, its not worth it to jailbreak ur iphone u WILL lose all data if u do it wrong. U could get in trouble with AT&T because i think its illegal. y do u want 2 do it anyway you'll only just like impress ur friends and others. u get used to it after a while. I think its not worth the hassels. my friend got his jailbroken by a professional ( the pro has a college degree or majored in like programing and went 2 college 6 years) U could only jailbreak an itouch u lose everything on it but u can always re-loaded on there.

It is extremely risky Your best (and cheapest) option is to purchase a Factory Unlocked iPhone 3GS from Play.com or http://www.PhoneDevil.com. They both sell iPhones sourced from Italy, which is where most unlocked iPhones on the open market are sourced from. These phones do NOT lock if you upgrade the phone software! You cannot buy unlocked iPhones in the USA. Do not believe the 'unlocked' iPhones being sold on eBay e.t.c. at really low prices...you WILL get scammed! I'm not sure if Play.com deliver to any country other than the UK. PhoneDevil.com deliver worldwide though and they're £50 (about $85) cheaper than Play. Here's the direct link to the play.com iPhones. They can be hard to find on the website :) http://tinyurl.com/l9o3hk

In short...YES. You are essentially modifying the software on the phone. In the past you could easily brick (term used for making an electronic device as useful as a brick) your phone by doing so. Mostly now if you corrupt the software somehow by jailbreaking it, you can merely restore your phone to factory settings. However that can sometimes get annoying. Please jailbreak at your own risk!